The Royal Test
by The Inspectre
Summary: After a routine mission two Huntresses face a type of Grimm they've never seen before but one pays the price after pride leads both of them to a fall. Now with her mortally wounded partner on Death's door can Weiss finally let go of this image of 'perfection? Or will this fall lead into darkness.. Can she give up pride to protect Ruby? White Rose. Post Volume 3, diverged canon.
1. The Mantis

_Haha not even a two parter. This one will be a bit longer than that I can tell already. If I could stop my penchant for cliffYangers then maybe.. Anyway, here's the first chapter of my newest work! Hope you'll like it! After the episode where Weiss summons part of the Giant Armor I really got inspired to do this. Honestly it was simply on the list before then but when I saw that I was like 'yep gonna do this one next'. A little clarification before we get started. I know the terms Huntsman and Huntress apply to male/female but I use Hunter as a unisex one. Monster Hunter habit. Also if you didn't read the summary, disregard the tags at first glance. The Angst is more on Weiss' part about something else you'll see later on. I'm gonna stop there and let you get to reading before I spoil something so have at thee! Also this is POST volume 3! Barring something insane like Beacon exploding (in the show not this fic) or whatever this'll follow canon._

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The Bullhead's interior was silent, save for the bipping and sound effects of someone's Scroll as they played a game on it. Said Scroll belonged to a short brunette dressed in black and red, her trusty and currently compacted High Caliber Sniper Scythe sitting beside her on the seat and a crimson cloak around her body. On the other side was her _polar_ opposite and partner, a girl with snow white hair in an off center ponytail and white/ice blue garb. Right in her lap rather than a Scroll was her prized Multi Action Dust Rapier Myrtenaster, and she was clearly growing annoyed with the other's distraction.

"Ruby."

"..." No response.

"Ruby!"

"..."

With a sigh the female reached over to first yank back her hood and then her headphones. "Ruby!" "BWAH." With a start her partner flailed and slipped off of the seat, whining back as she picked up the device she had been holding.

"What? I was almost done with that level.."

"We're getting close, and you're more worried about some stupid birds than our mission?" Weiss exclaimed in a huff. Really she could be so _irresponsible_ sometimes.. But Ruby was at heart a good leader when she put her mind to it or when it really came time to shine. This she knew, yet it didn't stop her from constantly 'mother hen'ing the younger girl.

"Hey those piggies are evil. Gotta bust 'em all!"

"Honestly.."

"Besides it's just a simple extermination mission. What'd the Request say.." Ruby exited her game, flicking across several tabs and a menu before opening up the order screen. A display of a picture with the extensive railroad that ran through Forever Fall appeared, along with a few points and another picture of some Beowulves accompanying it. "A large pack of Beowulves have taken to stalking one of the stopping stations along the forest of Forever Fall. This pack must be forced away or eradicated to ensure the safety of the station attendants and patrons.. Lien reward, complimentary tickets as a bonus.. What've we got to worry about? It's a low rank request and we can more than handle a few of those Grimm."

"Well what if there are Majors among them, or even an Alpha?"

"We've handled worse."

"That's _not_ the point Ruby Rose. We should treat every Grimm as a threat. Now put that game away and prepare yourself. We'll be over our destination in a minute or-" The sudden beeping of not her Scroll but the Bullhead VTOL they were in would cut her off, proving her point. That was the imminent departure signal and upon hearing that both Huntresses collected their weapons and steeled themselves.

Yang and Blake had already left for a Co-op Request so Ruby and Weiss were left to their own devices, being the former's suggestion that they do something together and the latter's that it be a mission from the board. Recent events had reiterated the fact that they still had room to improve. It was only a month after the completely disastrous attack on Beacon, serving as a harsh reminded of why humanity was to this day still sequestered in what were essentially cages across Remnant. To that end Weiss at least had devoted herself to constant training and perfection of her form. ..Perfection. That word echoed in her mind, tuning out everything else until a certain cookie monster shook her shoulder.

"Hey! Remnant to Weiss! Don't freeze up on me before our mission!

""Free- I swear your sister is a bad influence.." Dust dammit Yang what are you doing to this girl she thought to herself. Ruby tilted her head curiously before breaking out into a gigglefit, just now getting the pun joke she accidentally made. "But anyway, let's go."

"Roger roger!"

"Moving into departure position. Please standby to disembark." Came the automated message. Huh? 'Wasn't this thing supposed to land first?' -is what both of them mutually thought, sharing confused looks before the pilot came over the PA system.

"Sorry ladies, but we can't safely descend to the station. Those wolves are already out in force since a train came by just about an hour ago. They'd pile on before we could even open the hatch." Well shoot. So much for a simple disembarkment.

"You mean dogpile?"

"Dog- Cheeky, I like that. Anyway, you two will have to figure out a landing strategy. We'll swing by once you give the signal, hopefully to a clear LZ."

"Understood. We've had practice with that before anyway." A smirk was shared now as they stepped towards the side, Ruby again giggling as the pilot said something about opening the 'doggie door'. With more serious and determined looks upon their faces now they jumped from the edge. Crescent Rose was fully engaged, several shots of the large caliber gun inside slowing her descent considerably before she reached one of the treetops. Taking a page from Lie Ren's book she hooked the scythe blade into the trunk and spiraled down like a screw. Weiss on the other hand would have a more lofty approach, several dark gray Glyphs forming the semblance of a cylinder with long gaps between each 'level' that did pretty much the same thing as her partner's gunshots, except without the violent jerking that came from the recoil. Each pass reduced her overall speed by a large margin until finally touching down to the last Glyph, an emerald one that sent a gust of wind spinning in place upon approach. The Air Dust brought her to a hovering stop until it settled, and upon smoothing out her dress/combat skirt she'd pace over with a grumble towards her leader.

..Who was currently stumbling around like her uncle Qrow on one of his sorrow drowning soirees, trying to reach for the four? Weisses she saw and for Crescent Rose at the same time. Currently it was stuck about fifteen feet from the ground at the end of the very long spiral trail it had dug in from her attempt at landing. "Too.. Much.. Spinning.. I think I'm gonna hurl.."

"What'd you do, let go and slip off?"

"Something like that.." The disoriented Huntress said before stumbling. Thankfully Weiss was close enough by now to catch her.

"Really, you dolt. You should've just done like last time. ..Hellooo."

"...Weiss, did you get another scar?" Drop.

The alabaster heiress walked away with a huff, leaving her partner in a pile of leaves before using a white Glyph to propel herself up by Crescent Rose, stabbing Myrtenaster into the tree for a handle so she could try and wrench the scythe free. She could hear the howls nearby and was starting to get a bit worried. There were a _lot_ of them. Soon as the weapon was removed she dropped it towards her teammate so she could catch it, having recovered now from her dizziness.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Note to self, stick with what you know.."

"Smart cookie. Now let's go. We've got to clear out that station." Weiss stated, breaking into a run for the currently empty complex as the staff had all retreated into the underground. There had been no Hunters on duty there recently and the meager station guard was only staffed by the older model AK robots, so they weren't capable of stopping a full on attack. Only deterring the would be offenders that neared every now and then.

...

...

It was at least two hours later. Both of them had been quite exhausted by the extensive battling, having to plow through at least fifty Beowulves each. Not to mention the Alpha and its Major bodyguards. That had really pushed the two Huntresses, and right now they were waiting for their ship to get back. Having finally gotten a chance to rest Weiss was laying out on a bench while her partner sat beside her on the concrete, once again on her Scroll to distract herself.

"So, happy now? We got it done."

"..." Apparently the heiress was upset about something as she crossed her arms and looked towards the back of the bench.

"C'mon Weiss, are you STILL hung up about that? It happens to everyone!"

"I freaking TRIPPED. ME. Tripped! It was humiliating!"

"It wasn't like anyone saw. Your pride is just hurt more than your Schnees."

"I'd so smack you if I wasn't so tired.. Our ride should be here soon. They're making a stop to pick someone else up." She grumbled, rubbing her face. Suddenly several screams rang out from across the station, the two of them jolting and snatching up their weapons.

"There!" Following the brunette's extended finger towards where a group of Atlesian Knight-130s were fighting.. Something. Weiss would narrow her gaze to it, Myrtenaster's Dust chamber clicking as it spun. It was no Beowulf that was for sure. Several of the patrons and staff started running for their lives, jumping across the track to the opposite side as Ruby and Weiss went past.

"The heck is THAT?" The former exclaimed as she peered through the smoke and machines. Two were standing back only making the cloud larger as explosive Flame Dust munitions were pumped into the center from their arm gatlings. At the same time the clash of blade upon blade could be heard within before several of the remaining AKs were thrown back one after the other. In pieces for they had all been bisected either at the waist or shoulder-to-side. Some missing heads and limbs even. One such head rolled to a stop at Weiss' feet as the Creature of Grimm emerged into sight.

The Mantis, an extremely swift and deadly fighter it was. Not that either knew of its classification for this species was not from the borders. No, in fact it was from the outskirts of what were called the Grimm Wilds. The spaces beyond the reach of the Kingdoms. Outside of the main cities of each Kingdom, humanity occupied a rather small portion of the landmass via settlements and bases so there were parts that they had yet to even touch foot upon or see with their own eyes. Parts where unimaginable horrors lurked, Creatures of Grimm undocumented. Why this one was out so far was perhaps due to the recent events at Beacon Academy. All the darkness and negativity had drawn things like the Shadow Drake from slumber or out of their usual territories, so Remnant was dealing with a bit of an uprising still due to the aftereffects.

It stood relatively tall, at least a dozen feet and longer than its height. White carapace covered the grayish wings along its thorax as well as the tips of its four walking legs like cone-shaped thimbles, with a spindly but sturdy body black as night. Right up to its compound eyes that were bulging slightly from the white and round-cornered triangular white mask that covered its head, glowing red with black dots in the center. Its deadly and intimidating raptoral claws were almost entirely white as well except at the halfway point of the first segments, covered with the same Grimm bone material. The edges along the bottom of the second were serrated, with the third being honed to very lethal and large scythe blades and a black whip-like extension reaching out a few feet from holes in each.

Using the whip to great effect it snapped at one of the gunner mode AKs, ripping it in half while blocking the other's shots with the broad side of its scythe. Then in a single slash it took off both arm gatlings, impaling through it to the ground before withdrawing. Both girls appeared a bit nervous once it turned its gaze upon them, but the taller white-haired one seemed to shrug this off as she stepped forward.

"Weiss.."

"Relax. I have a plan. It's not like 130s are very dangerous. I'll wrap this up and we'll go home." Overconfident much, though her logic wasn't too incorrect. The now discontinued (except in cases of perimeter defence) Atlesian Knight-130s while a match for lesser Grimm in decent numbers, were little threat to the more powerful ones or to a relatively passable Hunter. Barring large numbers of course. The heiress was making a grave mistake however, and it was ironic that earlier she had been the one warning Ruby of the dangers of underestimating the Grimm whereas now the brunette was the worried one and Weiss the lax.

"What's one more lackey to a Huntress like myself anyway? Watch and learn Ruby, you might pick up something."

"Hold on, let's do this together! We need to be careful, I've never seen a Grimm like this before."

"..Fine. I suppose that'd be the smart thing. Just back me up alright?" Weiss asked, taking point with Myrtenaster at the ready as Ruby switched Crescent Rose back into rifle mode.

"I've got your back! Trust me on that!"

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less." A smile was sent back before she stopped, staring down the Creature of Grimm. It'd hiss, folding its arms in the typical 'praying' posture before taking a stance of its own. Nearby onlookers that had either refused to go back inside or wanted to watch were waiting with bated breath to see who would move first. Flicking her MADR back, the W of RWBY fired a burst of white energy marked with dark blue towards her partner's weapon. Upon reaching and impacting it the weapon began to glow white, a single white Glyph appearing directly in front of the muzzle with concentric rings of pale blue circling it.

"Ice Flower!"

* * *

 _Yeeaah I know I prefer White Rose myself but they used Ice Flower in the show. Something I did differently is instead of enhancing her shots from a single point, Weiss has imbued the sniper scythe itself with cold shots so she can stay mobile. Not as powerful as Crouching Fire/Siege Mode- *stops, realizing this isn't Monster Hunter and Ruby's not wielding a Heavy Bowgun* -as powerful as the immobile version but hey. The Ice Queen wants to be little miss badass and take this thing by herself with her leader lending a hand so.. Handy. Y'know what they say though. Pride comes before a Fall. ..Get it. Forever Fall? No? Bah. Anyway. Some of you might guess what Ruby is playing. Some of you would be correct in thinking it's Angry Birds or a Remnant equivalent. Very few of you might be wondering why. Well it's an easy funny reference and I can't use the game Angry Birds was probably inspired by called Crush the Castle (hey at least I'm not raving it's a ripoff) because nobody would get that one.. So.. Yeah. I mean Angry BIrds is fun and all but how the heck did that one become a multi-million dollar franchise (seriously I work at a carnival so I see Angry Birds (and the MineCraft (I can haz Terraria?) and the Minions and the Frozen yaddabladda) merch ALL the time) but Crush the Castle didn't? Not that it really bothers me but I just find it funny. Alright.._

 _Inspectre Offline!_


	2. Before a Fall

_Everybody shake.. Everybody groove! ..Yes I am listening to Good Times. The Lost Boys is one of my favorite movies and I wish I still the cassette of the soundtrack. Man I wore that thing out over the years. I have it on my tablet though so all good. Now where were we..? Oh yeah._

 _Regarding the Mantis and Grimm Wilds, both are ideas of mine though I do have to give LDR credit for the Shadow Drake name. It's a pretty good name and I doubt that giant thing is simply called Dragon Grimm.. The Grimm Wilds are essentially the spaces of land/sea that aren't within the reach of each of the Kingdoms. I imagine that there's a main city, and either several outlying cities (think of something like the Hyrule Castle Town from Legend of Zelda) with small settlements, military bases, and/or minor points of interest like that station in Forever Fall. Seriously with how HUGE that forest seems to be and probably the reason it got its name (including the seemingly ever present season of Fall) that thing would have to stop somewhere for fuel/boarding and disembarking unless it carries a lot of fuel onboard or has some super efficient Dust power source. Think about it. How much time passed between Blake and Adam landing on the train to the end of the Black trailer? Look at how fast that train was going as well and ya get the point._

 _I digress, anyway.. They're the spaces that are simply too far for the Kingdoms to properly manage/safeguard, as we saw what happened to Mt. Glenn when they tried to expand.. This is where all those really old Grimm that have gotten wiser, stronger, and more cunning reside. Where all the strange subspecies and types we haven't seen before are. I bet you there are aquatic Grimm and underground types as well, might explore that in future fics. For all we know there could be Grimm.. IIIIIn spaaaaaaaaace! Now we know how Grimm are drawn to negative emotions and such like the Noise from The World Ends With You, and if you've played that game you know good and well how the worse it gets, the worse THEY get. That Dragon didn't exactly wake up because someone was beating on its door. It likely arose after smelling the metaphorical coffee pretty much every citizen in Vale was exuding at the time. So things are crawling out of the woodwork for a sip. Like the Gryphons. Why are we seeing them NOW of all times? ..I'm asking in-universe, as for IRL they probably either just finished making/modeling them or something, or just came up with the idea. Then again maybe Monty had an entire Beastiary (a bestiary in my opinion is a book of BFFs, not beAsts, English language you make no sense sometimes) of Creatures of Grimm before he passed.. Who knows? Alright, enough jabbling. Here's the next chapter! *taps fingers to Lost In The Shadows as it comes on after*_

 _P.S. After watching the Volume 3 finale, I'm gonna take a break and go lay in a hole in a catatonic state for a few millenia. But not before I post this. Props to RoosterTeeth and Monty for the freakin' amazing job (and that's an understatement) they did and have done with the series thus far. My feels have been touched in ways I didn't even know was possible, and I'm pretty sure the hype train has transformed into a hype spaceship with super FTL capabilities for Volume 4. Also this means that unfortunately I have to diverge from canon at this point since this was supposed to be set AFTER volume 3's ending by a bit of time, but I'm not going to let that stop me. So look forward to seeing the rest of this whenever I recover along with the rest of the fandom._

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Ruby peered into the scope, taking aim with Crescent Rose. She wouldn't fire yet however, she already had a plan of her own and would relay to her partner to get one of its claws in the ground. As Myrtenaster's barrel clicked and the blade began to glow red she stepped forward into a dash. With a shrill screech the Mantis went right for the bait and swung its right claw down towards the incoming heiress. Using the handguard and the current Dust imbuement she managed to deflect the lethal scythe blade to the left and that's when the trap was sprung.

Several shots rang out, blooming ice formations locking that claw in place once momentum carried it into the concrete and split into it like a knife through hot butter. With a quick cartwheel to dodge the second incoming claw Weiss gracefully hopped and touched down upon the top of the first, an Acceleration Glyph forming along the length into another. Hearing more shots fired the Huntress smirked, confident that the claws were now indisposed for the time being as she saw flashes of ice in her peripheral vision. As she zipped forward and up at an angle Myrtenaster was drawn back, ready to strike like a coiled snake. With a blindingly fast extension of the arm it pierced, driving into the Mantis' mask. So it seemed.

That smirk was instantly replaced by a look of utter confusion as the point of her rapier slid across thanks to her target tilting its head back. The bone was left with a deep cut but nothing more than that as a few sparks flew in the wake. Weiss had expected nothing short of an instant kill but realizing her attack had missed its target she kicked off from its neck area and flipped back to land nearby her partner.

"What the heck?" She shouted, glaring at the Creature of Grimm and clearly frustrated.

"It's fast, looks like we'll have to step things up."

"It's just a bug, bugs need to be squashed." The heiress huffed, throwing her ponytail back over her shoulder with a jerk of her head before taking stance with her MADR again. "Legs this time."

Nodding, Ruby took aim and with four consecutive shots froze the Mantis' spindly legs in place. Due to the shape of the tips it was essentially hooked inside the ice formations, but a forceful tug of the foreclaws wrenched them free from the others. Those eerily prehensile whips extending from the tips were left behind however clearly to the Grimm's displeasure.

"Well shoot. That's not going to work, let me try-"

"Go for the head." Weiss commanded, Myrtenaster being flicked as several Glyphs appeared in a vague 'dome' around the target all facing towards the Mantis. Much like what she used against the White Fang Lieutenant. The brunette started to protest but her partner cut her off. Against her better judgement she then took aim for the admittedly small target, squeezing the trigger.

Of course being an ace sniper, she hit her mark. Another crystalline formation grew across the mask and eyes causing the Creature of Grimm to go into a panic and start wildly swinging with its claws. "Are you seriously going to go in there?" "Take a look. Left, right, left, right, left, right, just like the mindless monster it is."

True to word it was rather predictably swinging at chest height as if daring the Huntresses to come closer. Dare the taller one did, disappearing for one of the floating Glyphs. At that moment the Mantis stopped, turning its claws inward and practically icepicking its face free, then its legs. Just like a woodpecker with the speed it was moving and with the heiress inside those Portal Glyphs of hers she couldn't take note of the sudden change. All Ruby could do is shout as once she emerged, it was to face an irritated Grimm with its full range of motion back.

Every time she zipped from one Glyph to another, it was amidst a storm of sparks as Myrtenaster met scythe in a frightening display of speed and accuracy. Ruby didn't dare try to shoot it again in fear of the possibility of hitting her partner by mistake, opening Crescent Rose into scythe mode in case she had to intervene. She was glad she did when finally the Mantis seemed to get lucky and backhand her with the broadside of one of its claws, sending her flying. Every shot the Ice Dust imbuement from before could muster before it wore out was fired off creating a wall of ice between the other female and the Grimm as she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, catching Weiss with one arm and setting her down.

"This isn't going to work Weiss! We-" Both Huntresses turned and shielded themselves as the ice wall was cut through like cardboard, a single spinning blow of its thorax showering them in pieces of ice. Without thinking Ruby leveled her HCSS, blasting away with regular Dust ammo. All deflected or blocked by crossed blades as the target advanced forward, legs rapidly clicking away on the ground. In order to cover her now reloading teammate who was selecting one of her special magazines, the heiress dashed forward to try and at least ward it off.

That's when it all started to so so dreadfully wrong, and the Mantis' true power began to show. Each graceful step and rapier thrust was either knocked away or parried. In a quick motion after sliding under a horizontal swing Weiss attempted to stab it with a blue glow to her weapon now, only for the Grimm to rear back by using its foreclaws as a push lever and violently smash her into the ground with its two front legs while simultaneously drawing away. All before she could react, pinning her to the floor and from what both Huntresses could hear breaking a rib or two in the process as her Aura buckled. She let out a hissing groan, trying desperately to slice at her captor.

The Mantis then dropped, letting off of its foreclaws to put its entire weight back on the four legs. This elicited more of a scream from Weiss as she felt another bone give way. In a blur Ruby was on it, blindly swinging in a frenzy. Anything to get it off of her partner. Sparks flew again as scythe met scythe repeatedly, additional explosive shots being squeezed off in tandem that had little more effect than making the Grimm twitch. Under such a violent and equally fast assault however it had no choice but to back off when it was clear the short female had no intent but to move forward.

"Ruby-! Stop! That thing is stronger and faster than I thought!" Stabbing her rapier into the floor as a prop Weiss forced herself up, coughing and decorating the concrete with flecks of blood as she clutched her midsection. Things were starting to take a dire turn for the worse. She had foolishly underestimated the Creature of Grimm, so eager to prove she could simply swipe it aside and just rather tired of today's event combined with a lack of knowledge of the species. Looking up she'd grimace, catching the last second that Ruby finally managed to drive it away. Scythe head swiveled at a more straight angle and coming down it was caught by a crossed blade guard from the Mantis, an explosion of Dust and fire filling its vision as it backpedaled with a screech.

"We've gotta go!" "Where you idiot? The ship isn't here in case you haven't noticed!" The ice queen snapped, regretting it immediately and apologizing. "Everybody has gone inside the shelter by now, I can have us there in a flash and we'll just wait for-" "No!"

Ruby had been coming over to help support her partner, only to be pushed away after the inconceivable notion of running and hiding. "I'm not going to run from this one Grimm.. We can handle this. We just *cough* have to come up with a strategy." "I can't think of anything.. I'm sorry but this is the best option we've got!"

"I refuse!" Weiss growled, watching as the Mantis continued to flail about. It may not have done much actual damage but right now it was severely blinded by Ruby's last blast and flailing about in agony. They were likely only going to have one chance to choose fight or flight, and out of cracked pride and agitation the white haired Huntress was leaning towards the former. "Here. Ice the legs and claw joints." Another white glow upon Myrtenaster signaled another charge of ice shot imbuement.

"What? No!" "Excuse me?" She turned, scowling at Ruby. Why was she doing this? This was the best time to attack the insect and crush it was what Weiss thought..

"I don't want to risk it, we already tried that once! Let's just go! Please!"

"You go then. I can finish it off myself with the way it is." "You just said it's too-" "Well thanks to you all that power and speed is now worthless. Just sit back and watch. I suppose it falls to a Schnee to clean up this mess.." Ruby bit her lip as a white glow emitted from Myrtenaster along with several runic designs, the other Huntress preparing an all or nothing attack. The same kind she had used on the Giant Armor once before. Upon fully charging Weiss created a trail of Acceleration Glyphs on the path to the Mantis, reaching back with her rapier and sliding forward as if skating across a sheet of ice. The duress from the attack put quite a strain on her midsection but she powered through the pain with thoughts of victory in her mind.

In the blink of an eye, agitated red eyes that is the Grimm's white carapace covered thorax would open to reveal its dark gray but translucent wings. They started to move with a loud hum, comparable to a bumblebee's in speed as the Mantis simply disappeared. That left a confused Weiss to pierce into a mere afterimage before the real thing almost seemed to warp into existence behind her, bringing down its right claw in a diagonal slashing motion. Then Ruby saw red, screaming as her partner went tumbling across the concrete and rolled to a stop. She didn't move at first but she was still alive, her weapon having skid a few feet away.

In an equally short blink the girl was at the Mantis' back, swinging for one side of its beating wings with Crescent Rose before spinning off to the side and parrying a backhand slice. Weiss was struggling just to move at this point as her Aura was dangerously close to empty from the battles against the Beowulves and the large cut across her back was bleeding profusely. With every bit of strength she could muster she started dragging herself over to her weapon with teeth grit. She could hear Ruby fighting the Grimm in her place which spurred her on to move just a little faster, finally laying her fingertips on Myrtenaster's handle when the heiress heard sounds she would never want to hear again. Her cries of pain, ones that made it clear she was losing that fight.

Finally taking it in hand and looking over her shoulder her breath caught in her throat as the Mantis advanced towards Ruby, both claws raised from its 'prayer' position. The Huntress had been having very little luck against it despite her own speed and not only was her Aura at zero she was covered in gouges and cuts, soaked in crimson amidst the black of her partially shredded outfit. Too selfless and too scared to simply run she'd hold Crescent Rose in front of her to try and block the next attack. However in a lightning fast X formation swing that neither of them could follow the Grimm dealt a mortal blow..

And Crescent Rose split in three, mostly in the center of the shaft where the attack had been focused. Long splashes of blood from her front began to form a puddle before the defeated Huntress fell to her knees, dropping the pieces of her scythe as she hit the ground. Weiss finally regained use of her voice, only to let it out it an earsplitting 'NO!' before forcing herself up with great difficulty. It was now she truly realized that this Grimm was beyond the mindless monster she previously gave it credit for. It was showing restraint, toying with the two females with a cruel mercy that only an evolved and intelligent Grimm could be capable of.

The creature could have easily torn Ruby into pieces by the time the heiress got to her feet but instead it chose to prod and poke at the fallen Huntress, adding a few more holes to the stab wounds already present. In another scream, this time of fury, she fired a burst of white and blue energy from Myrtenaster that split into arcing streams to hopefully bind the Mantis from moving. However with a twist of its body each stream went wild and made a small field of little frozen patches around it. Thankfully it was leaving her leader alone and now advancing back towards her. Not so thankfully, neither of them were in a condition to escape any more with Weiss realizing she should have listened to Ruby. In a last act of defiance she pointed Myrtenaster right at the advancing Grimm.

Claws were raised, a rapid pace established as it bore down on the heiress while she prepared one last attack. Myrtenaster's blade shined with white light before she brought it back primed and ready to strike. The Mantis let out a shrill cry, and then she saw red. A single but large red dot on her opponent before the low whistle of a falling object started to sound. Both combatants looked up (and back in the case of the human one) to see something flying towards them with great speed, and that whistling was replaced by a deafening explosion and a ringing in her ears as she was thrown back from the shockwave. Despite the darkness creeping in on the edges of her vision the familiar shape of a VTOL Bullhead could barely be discerned.

A four person crew was aboard and looking out of the side hatch as it started to descend, several voices ringing out as the Mantis staggered backwards. That laser sight locked back on after the smoke cleared and with another blast a second shell was fired from what appeared to be a man-portable artillery piece one of them was carrying. It landed just by the Grimm's legs, sending it skittering sideways as it crossed its claws over its front defensively with a hiss. As soon as the Bullhead was near enough the entire crew jumped, ready to go on the offence as Weiss blacked out.

* * *

 _Fair warning, Volume 3 finale spoilers below in this A/N at the bottom! FAIR WARNING._

 _So.. Wow. Mantis OP nerf plz? Just like anything, if it bleeds we can kill it. Those new arrivals might just be able to pull it off eh? Or not, this story is about Weiss not my OCs. Really they're just here to make a pickup and leaf. Get it, Forever Fall is full of trees so yeah._

 _Also, for those of you questioning the acronyms which I know at some point I've spelled out.. They're the technical terms for the weapons of the Huntresses I picked off of the wiki. Ruby's High Caliber Sniper Scythe (thanks to Cloy552 for reminding me it was High CALIBER and not Velocity, don't know what I was thinking, guess I remembered wrong) and Weiss' Multi Action Dust Rapier. Sounds pretty cool right? I think every character needs that kind of label on their weapon. It's something that sets them apart, aside from their Symbol and Semblance._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Seriously last warning because SPOILERS._

 _So.. Volume 3 is over.. I think I speak for all of us when I say OH MY GOD. Or some variation of that exclamation of shock and disbelief. Seriously, my FEELS. Jebus.. Ruby's got a secret power that I'm pretty sure isn't Winter Maiden Magic/Aura. Some kind of eye based one, maybe she summons a Yuki-onna from them or something. No I'm not being (100% anyway) serious. Were those wings..? I don't know if I can rewatch the episode again right now.. And that kiss, Pyrrha you finally did it.. I just hope and pray they find some way to bring her back. Character death can have a real impact on the story and it's not inherently a bad thing, but I was looking forward to finally seeing Arkos canon.. And because I'm a weak human being I had to spoil myself reading the comments on RoosterTeeth. But I managed to stop myself for longer than usual so there's hope of breaking that habit yet. Might make it a super late New Year's Resolution to not do that for Volume 4. Ozpin GG man, you did really good but in the end.. I'm not sure that was a fair fight though. That brought about so many questions.. If he's the Wizard, then how could he not defeat some simple upstart like Cinder? If he's still around.. How? Did he let Cinder win for some reason and this is all going to plan, or was she simply incapable of/ordered not to kill him entirely? Speaking of which, dat figure at the end. Eery how similar my GrimmLord idea is.. Yeah I know I'm not the first person to think of humanoid Grimm/human and Grimm hybrids, but right down to the pale skin and red eyes.. I'm really wanting to start my GrimmLords AU but that's still a major WIP in the thinking stages so.._

 _ALSO I KNEW IT. CINDER HAS A GRIMM MASTER. THAT EXPLAINS THAT FREAKY ASS GLOVE WITH THE GRIMM IN IT. I so called it soon that thing came out.. Back in chapter 4 of Grapefruit and Icecream in the opening A/N if ya don't believe me. It makes SO MUCH SENSE now.. Seriously._

 _RWBY's been split like a watermelon, though we finally saw big daddy Schnee. Weiss is stuck out there in Atlas.. He looks just like a lot of people probably figured. The white hair was a given though. And we saw/heard Taiyang! Animated no less instead of a still figure. Somehow I imagined him with longer hair before we saw the Team STRQ picture.. Like Goku in SSJ3/Super Saiyan 3 form. Also Qrow turning into a crow, heh. Can Raven go raven? AND he has Ozpin's cane, memento or plot device? Let the theories fly.. Well they're doing that anyway, like a swarm of startled birds. I think Blake is.. I don't know honestly, and poor Yang is depressed as all getout. Never thought she could be that cold towards Ruby. Also the S.S. Bumblee has been cracked! HULL BREACH._

 _So with the Dragon Grimm frozen on Beacon, along with Cinder I presume, they obviously can't run it like that. And with the towers down.. Sheesh._

 _...So what becomes of Mercury, Emerald, and Neo? And possibly Torchwick? One can hope.. At least Oobleck and Port survived.. That offscreen battle was probably badass. I'd expect nothing less of the coffee/flamethrower fuel drinking Dr. Seuss reference and the possibly Dwarven Professor Port. C'mon, only a dwarf could be so boisterous, stout, and come up with something like a blunderaxe. Blundrax? Wait this isn't Terraria.._

 _Anyway I've rambled long enough. Looks like Team RNJR (Ranger, which makes sense and I'm going along with the bandwagon on that name) has a loooong journey ahead of them. Volume 4 is going to be spectacular. Freakin' unbelievable. Amazeballs. Totes mcgoats awesome. Now we wait.. I particularly await seeing V3 and the soundtrack on Google Play hint hint, and am going to go dig a hole to live/cope in until further announcement._

 _But I'll still be writing though so no worries. Just.. Not for a few days possibly._


	3. Emergency Extraction

_Ooookaaay, Inspectre Online and we are back in action! ..Sorta. I'm still coping with Volume 3's finale but the worst of it is over. I'm certain this isn't the last dark descent in the story of RWBY though so don't lax your guard. Volume 4 will likely be an arduous journey.._

 _So, I want to take the time to thank my readers, my reviewers, my followers and favoriters (totes a word). Also wanna thank LDR, and Cloy552 for the correction on the technical terminology behind Ruby's Crescent Rose. Which by the way some of you might be wondering how it was broken. The answers are simple, weapons if I remember correctly and possibly don't because I'm not certain if it was a fan theory or actually confirmed, that Hunter equipment is also shielded/strengthened by their Aura. So when that Aura is depleted it loses that benefit as well. The other answer which adds on with the previous is that the Mantis' claws are wicked sharp. Weiss and Ruby's Aura haven't had long to recover after their mission either so yeah._

 _Anyhoot, time for chapter 3 of the Royal Test! I should consider making chapters longer. Not that I'm disappointed with my word count but it just feels short for some reason. I'm a sucker for cliffhangers though, so I'll have to work around that. My ideal size is no less than 2k per chapter, preferably 3k not including A/Ns. Now to go juggle what I want to write next.. Not that this will be ending any time soon that I can foresee, there's still quite a few left to be written and I plan on this story having an epilogue_ _._

* * *

 ***a minute or so prior to the arrival of the Bullhead, inside said vehicle***

Four figures were situated inside the aircraft, one sitting in another's lap talking about boys and hair and one standing by themselves near the pilot door with the last simply sitting across from the first two with a book in their hands. All of their weapons were either in hand or easily reachable due to the fact even the air over Forever Fall was considered a danger zone in case of Nevermore flocks.

"If you don't stop fidgeting I can't get your hair done Maiko. Keep it up and you're in for another tickling." "Oh quiet you, you just want to touch my abs." The first pair bickered good naturedly. The one on the floor was a lean but tall muscular male, dressed in what appeared to be a white and blue surfing wetsuit adorned with a pair of crossed cannons behind an anchor printed on the back. AMJR was emblazoned on the front, indicative of their name 'Armiger' which was a term used for those individuals given right to bear heraldric and oft decorated arms and armor. His hair was quite noticeable, a fauxhawk of pastel blue and pink like cotton candy with an anchor piercing in his right ear. Bright green eyes narrowed as he fumbled with a comb, going over his teammate's almost white blonde hair trying not to accidentally scratch her fox-like Faunus ears.

"Honey you ain't lyin', but if I had my choice you know whose I'd really want to get these fingers on?"

"Pfft, we all know how you look at that monkey boy Azure."

"Hey forget meat, you could grind metal on those muscles.." He laughed, finally finishing up and pulling Maiko's hair into her usual ponytail. It came down to her lower back, right above a rather fluffy fox tail. Another sign of her Fox Faunus heritage. With a playful smack Azure popped her on the rear as she got up, eliciting a yelp before she spun and kicked him in the side. Which would have hurt a lot if she hadn't been playing for the 6'2" brawler had even more muscle than her leader though it wasn't bulky. Definitive enough to compare almost to a full grown man's however. Maiko was dressed in a pair of white and black spandex shorts with red down the sides along with a red sports bra, wraps around her hands to her elbows, and a pair of white athletic running shoes. Clearly this girl was a brawler of some sort as she didn't appear to have a weapon on hand. Except she did quite literally, compacted into a pair of thick golden rings on each ring finger with a thick square on top.

"U-Umm, I'm trying to read.. If you two could keep it down please..?" Came a shy voice from across the first two members. The R of Team AMJR, Robin. She was the shortest around 5'10" and the least intimidating of the group by far, dressed in the usual Beacon Academy girl's uniform with thigh high black stockings, dress shoes, a modest plaid skirt, and a black gold trimmed jacket over a white blouse. One exception was her pair of strapped on vambraces with thick silver plates on the tops. Her hair was a darker shade of purple and curled away slightly from her at the ends, nervous magenta eyes meeting Maiko's glimmering yellow ones from behind a pair of reading glasses before the Fox Faunus went to go hit Azure again. Just for kicks and giggles. With a sigh she went back to reading, the cover of her book being of two black and yellow silhouettes at a table that read 'Coffee with Strangers'.

"Damn imbeciles.. I can't wait to be back home. Hey pilot, how much damn longer is this gonna take? The Hell are we making a detour for?" Called the final member of the Team, and rather agitatedly at that. Judging by the transparent set of wings extending from the back of her yellow tanktop and down the back side of her torn black skinny jeans, she was some kind of Insect Faunus. A Wasp to be exact which partially lead to her nickname 'Pinpoint Jack', due to her Semblance, weapon, and how tomboyish she was. Jackie to anyone who valued having all of their teeth still in their jaws however. Her arms were crossed as she glanced towards the door, expecting an answer as she closed her black eyes and brushed her asymmetrical black hair away from her face.

"Just a little while longer ma'am, I was supposed to evac these two up earlier but since your Bullhead got taken down I had to come over and make that pickup along the way."

"Hmm.. The station defence mission? That's a rather large one to deal with for two people.." Robin stated quietly, looking up over the top of her book.

"Well one is the famous heiress of the SDC so I think they'll be fine." That was the cue for the lot of them to change their expressions, everyone but the Wasp Faunus seemed to be sporting amused grins while the aforementioned female simply chuckled.

"So the Schnee heiress came to Beacon instead of Atlas? That's interesting." Jackie said.

"Hey, her choice. I hear things have gotten pretty strange over in Atlas what with the merging of government and academics. I know another pilot over there, told me the Request Board is overseen by Atlas' military as well. I don't think I'd feel right shipping kids off into a warzone if they got drafted for a conflict mission.."

"Just do your job." She snipped, though her teammates seemed to agree with the sentiments of the pilot. Things were quiet for a bit longer until the the Forever Fall train station came into view. With a sudden jerk the Bullhead shifted and accelerated, the turbulence warning going off with a rapid beeping. Team AMJR was up on their feet and glancing around now as they all looked towards the front.

"We got activity on the ground. LZ isn't clear. It's been like two hours, are they still mopping up- Shit prepare for engagement!"

"Engagement? What's wrong? It's just Beowulves and Ursi around this sector right?" Azure asked, leaning against the wall. Two Huntresses, even first years should be more than capable of dealing with that kind of threat he figured. Especially if the station security was still there, outdated AKs they may be. Unless there were Major or Alpha class Grimm around..

"Negative, I've got a Medium size Champion class Grimm on the radar! I don't know what it is but the Huntresses are down!"

"A Champion? Out here?!" Maiko shouted.

"That's the readout I'm getting!"

"What kind?" Azure asked, reaching over to pick up some kind of rectangular and lengthy object that had been sitting next to him propped up on the hull. The other members of AMJR were grabbing their own weapons as well or stretching and preparing for combat.

"I.. Have no idea. The Hell IS that? It's like some kind of giant bug. Two big scythe claws, four legs, has a large abdomen.."

"Can't be a Girtablilu, those are indigenous to Vacuo's deserts-" "Mantis! Get that door open!" Jackie interrupted, running for the hatch. She knew too well what kind of danger the Mantis was. A deadly and fast assassin with bone blades sharp enough to cleave stone like butter. As soon as the side door of the Bullhead opened it was to the sight of the Mantis towering over the white haired Huntress, the two enemies preparing for one last cross.

"Lock and load AMJR! Primary objective is to evac the Huntresses! Focus on that above all else! Maiko, I'm gonna pepper it so you can drive it back! Jackie you help her! Robin you go straight for- Holy crap that's a lot of blood.. Get the one in black!" With a grunt his weapon was hefted, the Man Portable Artillery Sledge he called Atlantis. It was essentially a scaled down Howitzer/gun turret minus the ground mount base, wheels, and extended loading trough. A long handle extending from the left side of the barrel to hold with his left hand while the right was firmly gripping the thicker one at the top of the main component. Setting it against his right thigh and side to brace it he'd curse, lamenting that he didn't bring any extra ammo crates for shells as someone tossed him a shell from a nearby chrome box that had been sitting on the other side of the launcher.

"Dammit she's too close for my liking but if I don't.. Here goes.." The shell was caught, quickly slid into the loading shaft on the back end before a full red laser sight clicked on from along the top of the barrel to his target. A moment's pause to calculate and he fired, the weapon going off with a roar as the projectile sailed true to target and impacted the Mantis dead on. The Heiress was unfortunately in the radius but there had been nothing he could do about that. Thankfully she wasn't too close and was simply thrown back by the force instead of being burned or shredded by the shrapnel. It helped that the Creature of Grimm largely and incidentally shielded her with its claws being in between the blast point and her, thanks to the angle he had from the Bullhead.

"Direct hit! One more then get ready to land!"

"Sorry but negative! I'm maintaining altitude! If that thing jumps up here we're screwed! Who knows what else might be lurking if that class of Grimm is skulking around!" The pilot shouted, seeing that the entirety of the station's defences were either underground or laying in pieces above. AMJR could potentially kill the monster but it'd be a hard fight. Azure conceded he had a point as well. It'd be some time before another Bullhead could be scrambled or diverted their way and unless they wanted to catch a train going full speed.. Well the next train wasn't due to arrive for a good while anyway and until that extermination mission was confirmed complete it had orders to not stop so.. Tough luck.

"Fair enough, we can get back up here just fine. Firing!" A second Dust Shell was loaded, aimed right for the now scurrying Mantis. His aim had been just a bit off though and he instead struck by its legs. At least that was a good enough shot to give it pause and almost immediately start backing away. As he loaded the third one the metallic crate began to rise and hover for the exit. Not like the male could feasibly carry more than a few shots for his weapon at most without severely over encumbering himself so he relied on the Atlesian invention to carry it for him remotely. Then the four of them jumped overboard, the Wasp Faunus' wings buzzing as what appeared to be a golden spear with a crossbow mounted into the back end extended telescopically from what otherwise had looked just like a normal crossbow. That was her landing strategy, flying. The rest..

Robin's arms extended as she spread-eagled, those silver plates from before sliding out to form what looked like a set of kite shields called Soul Bastion each adorned with her Symbol of a heart wrapped with chains and a padlock on the front. The shields themselves didn't slow her down much but with a shimmering glow two similarly shaped barriers of golden light seemed to phase into existence over the fronts, catching the wind and drastically reducing her velocity so she could hit the ground safely. Once down she swung her right arm out, another activation of her Semblance 'Barrier' creating a thin hovering circle where her leader was predicted to land just a foot off of the ground. When he finally hit it rather than bounce or break something the circle seemed to absorb the impact as it crackled, the male not even flinching as he then hefted his MPAS to assess the situation.

Meanwhile, Jackie had separated from the group and instead of touching down had spun her spear, Yellow Kaiser, to level the crossbow end towards the Mantis as she withdrew a bolt from a hip quiver on her lower to draw it back and await a chance to strike. Airborne she had the perfect vantage point to harass the Grimm with so that whether it chose to try and block her high angle shots or deal with the groundborne assault, it would have to choose one or the other. Or possibly both if it was smart and quick enough. The pilot said it had come up as Champion class so this one was a bit old, enough to have a level of intelligence rare among the Creatures of Grimm at the outskirts of the Kingdom.

Maiko on the other hand took 'in your face' to a whole new level by having aimed to land directly on the retreating Grimm, reaching back with fingers splayed as the rings spun 'round to shift and extend the square into the palm of her hand which then stretched into the grips and blade of her trench knives Kagutsuchi. The thickened ring opened up and clicked over onto the adjacent fingers like handcuffs with the middle going one more over to finish the transformation. On the way down, Fire Dust vials were loaded into the grips, igniting the knuckle rings and blades as she aimed to land with her right fist.

However right before she made contact its wings expanded from its thorax and flew out from under her, the Fox Faunus hitting the concrete sundering the material for several yards as an explosion engulfed her being. From her vantage point Jackie took aim and fired, the bolt striking true and hitting the Grimm in its unprotected side. Then it lit with sparks as the Spark Dust went off. Or it would have if she had grabbed the proper projectile. Amateur mistake, one she berated herself for before grabbing an actually Dust enhanced bolt from the other half of her quiver.

Meanwhile Robin broke straight into a run, past the Mantis as it started to swing for her and was repelled by a third shell from Azure's cannon. A raised kite shield deflected incoming fragmentation and fire as she skid to a halt, apprehensively accessing Ruby's condition before reaching down and picking her up. It seemed safe to move her, not that they could afford to wait and apply treatment anyway. On the way back as she attempted to give the Grimm a wide berth it shrieked and skittered towards her, almost catching her with a powerful overhand swipe before Maiko slid in between them to catch it atop the crossed blades of her trench knives. "Hey, look where you're aiming! You're fighting ME!"

Not for long though, as she started swinging for its chest area and slashed at the bases of its foreclaws it became clear the Mantis was faster and managed to score a slash or two of its own across her body. Thankfully her Aura held and another bolt soon found itself lodged in its side, igniting with electricity that managed to paralyze it for a few seconds. The sniper that shot it was readying yet another when her leader shouted for her to grab the heiress and go, complying and swooping down to snatch Weiss and fly back towards the Bullhead. At the same time, Robin was using hovering platforms generated by her Barrier ability to ascend to it as well and with the two Huntresses aboard Maiko retreated right after. She'd follow the platforms, with Azure watching in shock as the Mantis decided to ignore him and start after the Faunus.

"Robin! Cut the platforms!" "What?! B-But-" "Do it!" Reluctantly the Semblance-formed creations disappeared, causing the Creature of Grimm to fly through the one it had attempted to leap to and get a face full of cold hard ground. It seemed its wings weren't quite strong enough for flight thankfully, only increasing movement speed. With a hiss it turned on the male, foreclaws in 'prayer' before it began to approach. This was bad, he was out of ammo and the hovering crate would serve as little more than a one time distraction. ..It would, he thought as he formulated a plan. Tapping something on the Scroll hanging on his belt the chrome box would fly into the back of his approaching enemy, doing little more than agitate it with a smack to the head. But while it spun to start clawing at it he'd trigger his own Semblance, Drain.

It let him absorb the small amounts of Aura in the air that came from the constantly emitting life force of people, animals, and plant life to recharge his own. After all, every living being had an Aura and like oxygen and carbon dioxide it was constantly processing into and from those sources. In an almost vampiric manner he could also take it directly from a living source but that was a lot more difficult and he really didn't like doing it. A light blue glow encompassed his person as he scowled at the Mantis, energy filling the barrel of Atlantis as Azure started to channel. "Oh don't mind me, just preparing a little snack.." Another hiss. Tough crowd.

While most weapons could be shielded with Aura or strengthened, his was one of the more uncommon ones that could process it offensively in raw form. This took the shape of blue crackling energy the same color as his Aura, and when the Creature of Grimm came back for him after dealing with the ammo crate he smirked, hearing the beep that signalled a 100% charge. With a battle cry he rushed. A bit sluggishly due to the weight but with a tremendous effort he leapt at an angle towards the monstrous insect swinging Atlantis overhand. He was left to hang however, the Grimm having managed to stop the blow with both claws before it could drop on its skull. Exactly as planned.

The Huntsman glanced skyward, then utilizing as much of his upper body strength as he could lifted himself and smashed his knee into the base of the cannon before heaving himself over on top of it. Ooh he'd feel that in the morning. The barrel had began to slide back across the curvature of the blades before the motion shoved it between the foreclaws, eventually tilted down at the Mantis after he added his weight atop it. Once the barrel had center of mass in sight he pulled the trigger, a few subtle flashes preluding a very large and loud one. "I hope you're hungry!"

His taunt was lost amidst the bellow of Atlantis' Aura Blast, the Grimm actually lessening its resistance to the heavy weight atop the single right before it fired. The barrel shifted towards the ground under and beside it instead of directly at it now, but it regardless was going to have the desired effect. Releasing a powerful beam the male was propelled skyward towards the Bullhead. One the way up Azure realized there'd be no two Nevermores with one stone as the resulting flash of light from the attack faded, the Grimm rolling across the station to a stop before scrabbling to its legs. The attack had definitely scarred it, underside and exterior sizzling whitish blue. However the overall effect was.. Disappointing. But they completed the primary objective. Save the Huntresses. As his heavy form was caught by the Wasp Faunus and hammer tossed roughly through the Bullhead's door he shot the Grimm one last dirty look before the now sealing hatch closed, Jackie having zipped back inside.

 **... *moments later***

"Ow.. My neck.. Did you have to toss me so hard Jackie?" "Do you know how freakin' HEAVY that damn overcompensation you're carrying is you fruit basket?" "Hey he's practically the whole tree." The AMJ of AMJR bickered for a moment, suddenly looking towards the R as she tended to the wounded Huntresses and called for them to settle down. With a quick motion Azure was right side up, letting his weapon fall over next to his partner's spear so he could go check.

"How are things looking back there?" The pilot called with unease, immediately taking off as soon as the last Hunter was inside. Looking over the two females, Robin started to speak albeit fearfully.

"Th-The shorter one has a lot of lacerations and puncture wounds, and two very deep incisions on her front.. She's lost a lot of blood! We have to get to a hospital quickly!"

"And the heiress?"

"Umm.. S-Several broken ribs, internal bleeding, I don't think any of her organs have been pierced or damaged by interior fragments though but lots of bruising, and a long gash on her back.. She's not critical but if we don't hurry the other one will bleed out.."

"Copy that, setting course for the closest medical center in Vale. I'll radio ahead to have them prepped and ready. Hold on!"

"Wait.." Jackie grimaced, walking towards Ruby and kneeling by her side as she traced her finger over the many cuts and gouges. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and upon seemingly realizing something she turned towards the front and shouted for him to change direction for Beacon and call for whoever he could get ahold of first.

"What? Why? That's a longer route!"

"General hospitals aren't stocked to handle this! She's.. She's got Grimmblight." Silence fell over the others, the PA crackling with static before coming back on.

"Grimmblight? You're not serious." Was the general reaction of the pilot, and her teammates. At least until Robin took another close look and verified her diagnosis. Some white essence was starting to leak from Ruby's wounds in her blood, and the lines of the cuts and holes were turning sickly white as well like paint. As Jackie went on to explain.. Grimmblight was a very dangerous and lethal infection, akin to Necrosis and brought on by what in the old days Hunters had called a 'curse'. It was carried by powerful older Grimm, spreading if they managed to inflict wounds on a weakened individual with little to no Aura to stop the deathly contagion from taking hold. It'd slowly rot the body of the afflicted subject until death, unless the offending Grimm was/were killed.

For this reason debate on the proper classification of the condition was a long running one, but discussions all agreed on one point. It was a terminal and very dangerous one as it jammed the flow of Aura and prevented the victim from regenerating it. Once defeated however recovery of the affected persons was very highly likely, almost miraculously even. Thus for this reason when a report came in of a Hunter coming down with Grimmblight, others were immediately dispatched upon getting details of the situation so that the inflicter could be slain with swiftness. If Team AMJR hadn't had a more pressing matter to attend to they could potentially have done so then and there but in their leader's opinion, a shared one at that, getting everyone out safely was more important than finishing off the Grimm. They couldn't have known at the time either.

"That's harsh.. Everybody be ready to debrief then. Maybe we'll be able to redeploy and go squash that thing." Azure spoke after another silence, eliciting confused/surprised looks from the others before Jackie scoffed. Something about being too soft, to which he replied with something dirty before she grabbed her spear and attempted to shank him with it. Then she added that the reason they were going to Beacon is because while it was a rare occurrence an Academy would be better at handling Ruby's infection, and even though there were no medicinal cures they'd likely have easier access to sources of the powerful medicines that could at least slow it down.

"Roger, changing course for Beacon Academy." The man stated before contacting someone else. "HQ this is Flying Dog, we have two injured Huntresses inbound. One's in critical condition and developing Grimmblight, I need whoever can be reached first on the line about deploying-"

The Huntsman and Huntress all looked towards the door, each sending silent prayers that the two would make it out alright. All also wondering what would come of the Mantis and whether or not they'd be cleared for redeployment. Then again situations like these were best left to professional Hunters. With one last look at Ruby and Weiss, Robin kneeled by the former to place her hand on the former's own.

* * *

 _Wowee, what a biggun. Welp, Team AMJR managed to save the day! Sorta. I love writing action scenes so sorry if I got a bit excessive. They did their part though and the rest is gonna be on Ruby and Weiss. They might make cameos in the epilogue along with the pilot. Kinda starting to like that guy. But yes those are some of my OCs. All 2nd year Hunters from Beacon, though Jackie is from an entirely different Kingdom in my head called Grove. More on that possibly in other fics, especially whenever I start my GrimmLords AU. The only one who didn't use her Semblance either, HMM. Oh and for an explaination of the names in accordance with the color naming rule.. Azure's last name is Hariken, basically means blue hurricane. Maiko's last is Akaji, which you can sorta derive 'child dancing in a red field' from. Jackie's last name is Gelbe, which is German for yellow and 'Jackie Yellow' is easy to get yellowjacket from, and yellowjackets are in the same general family or whatever as wasps, hornets, bees, etc. Finally Robin's last name is Terra, robins being birds and terra meaning earth so earthbound bird? Then AMJR (armiger, pronounced with a soft G like a J and not a hard G) stands for armiger. Armigers as I fo_ _und from research were people entitled for some reason (many possible) to bear 'heraldric arms' which apparently were quite literal decorated arms and armor in some cases. Those tended to be quite shiny and colorful and extravangtly designed._

 _Speaking of cameos yes I did just reference Coffee With Strangers by the awesome TigerLilly22. One of my most favorite stories by one of my most favorite writers, of all time. Whenever I get around to going back through the thousands of fics to find the ones I liked/read ones I might've passed over before, and start favoriting/reviewing, that'll be first on the list now that I have an account here. One day I hope to have a story as good and as popular as that one.. Though I have to say for my first work I'm proud of Grapefruit and Icecream. I also referenced Sonic Adventure 2 Battle but good like finding THAT reference, nyahaha! I might be nice and point it out next chapter which I'll probably start tonight or tomorrow._

 _As for future works, oh my gloooob someone save me from this mountain of work..! I mean I seriously enjoy it but.. Back on RoB I have like 65+ roleplaying characters, and almost half of them need either finishing of their biographies or starting from notes. 16 of those or so are RWBY ones go figure. Then the fanfics.. I have at least 20 future ideas jotted down on a list. Some songfics, which I wanna try at least once and need to research some first.. One prompt is too good to pass up, basically starring Neptune and the CRDL boys as backups (yeah, crackfic) in Shiny Teeth and Me. It's not my idea but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw someone mentioning the idea of a dance video about it because it fits Neptune so well, and I agree. Might have been the RWBYforums. it was awhile back and my memory sucks so.. Yeah. The other one so far is Lost In The Shadows from The Lost Boys, Bumblebee centric and just post V3. Feels fitting. Then there's the crossovers or cross-AU (I don't know what the technical term is but instead of X meets Y it's more like a mix?). Starcraft, Advance Wars, and Fallout for starters, and I also have a few AUs of my own that I've thought a lot about. And shipfics because why the Hell not. And some Friendship fics too. Two reviewers have also commented actually liking the idea of a sequel to Grapefruit and Icecream, honestly don't know what I might do about that at this point._

 _Anyway, it's like 11:31 (11:55 now because apparently the first time I tried to save this and switched tabs, it never went through properly so I had to rewrite this whole A/N after already having to go back and redo the proofreading and editing for the same exact reason like an hour before!), so I'm gonna post this and go get some sleep. See you guys next time!_

 _Anyway Pt.2 I literally just found out there are keyboard shortcuts here for stuff like **bolding** so that's new. I have to use CTRL-V to copypaste the letter U since my tablet is missing that key and I had a finger slip when I went to go do it and continue typing.. Does CTRL-I italicize? Wowee it does. This is what happens when you do all your writing in chat rooms or Notepads for so long and never bothered with keyboard shortcuts when you actually had a computer and Microsoft Word. I feel kinda smart but dumb at the same time.. Okay enough jibber jabber._

 _Inspectre Offline!_


	4. Guilt and Punishment

_Inspectre Online!_

 _Another day, another dollar. Y'all ready for another chapter? Yes? Good. No? Too bad._

 _In response to LDR.. Depends on which one I pick. Most of the ones I'm looking at are probably going to be more lighthearted. Either some Freezerburn Friendship/Romance or maybe the Starcraft or Advance Wars cross-AU. GBA/DS series (1, 2, and Dual Strike) for the latter, Blue Moon centric. Olaf's kinda pompous and a superior CO (rank wise, gameplay wise he's eh in my opinion) whose theme centers around ice and snow, and Grit is a laid back but very talented CO and sniper/ranged expert who always gets on his leader's nerves, and while they bicker often they're pretty close. Sound familiar? Weiss and Ruby no?_

 _In response to Cloy552.. Yeah, I love writing action scenes. Weiss was just unconscious, will definitely have a few broken bones there and possibly a back scar. Ruby on the other hand passed out from extensive blood loss and shock and will probably be getting sent to the ICU. Which you might have guessed by now. If not you'll find out!_

 _In response to Nekonyaneko.. Neko means tiger! ..Monster Hunter reference, sorry, couldn't resist. Anyway I think I have seen the toxic blood thing before but I came with more of a 'curse' approach to give Weiss a better reason to go try and hunt down the Mantis. Otherwise the only reason she'd have to go do it is pride which this story is trying to fix, and Ruby being on her (terminal) death bed is actually crucial to the plot near the end. As far as I'm imagining it my head we've got this chapter which will gloss over the second battle if I fit it in, and a little sit down and talk session in the next (Jaune Arc is on the character list for a reason, actually has some words of wisdom about knights that tie in with the Giant Armor in a way and I'm likely including Winter as well) before we dive into the final two? chapters, then the epilogue. I say two? because apparently I can't simply do oneshots and underestimate how long a fic/chapter will span when I'm writing it up in my head, or find spots I want to stop at and continue in a new chapter._

 _Alrighty, time to slink away from the action a bit and get more feelsy. What's become of the Huntresses? Has anyone been able to track the Mantis? Read on and find out.._

 _P.S. Anyone who gets the reference in the chapter title (I am a sucker for those and puns, I regret nothing) gets a shoutout!_

* * *

The Bullhead came to a stop just outside Beacon's on-campus medical ward, having received special clearance to land within the perimeter of the Academy. The hatch was opened to the sight of several doctors and stretchers ready to take the two Huntresses with the assistance of Team AMJR, who were then pulled aside by acting Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch. The woman's Scroll was already out and ready to get reports from the Hunters as the medical officers whisked Ruby and Weiss away.

...

 ***an uncertain amount of time later, inside one of the hospital rooms***

...

Weiss groggily and slowly awoke to pain, having tried to sit up and get her bearings before the pressure she tried to place on her midsection immediately forced her back down with a sharp hiss. The single on-duty nurse in the room noticed this and immediately buzzed for someone via a wall-mounted speaker and in moments another doctor was inside, trying to ease the heiress and calm her. "Ms. Schnee, please remain still. You've got several broken ribs and-" "Ruby.." "Pardon?"

She had whispered the name at first, opening her eyes again to examine her surroundings. White. Green. Chrome. An almost too clean scent in the air and she was dressed in an emerald gown with what felt like medical bandages around her stomach and chest.. Yep. She was in a hospital room. A rare but not unknown sight to the heiress. A few moments later Weiss would call her name again, looking over at the doctor and asking where Ruby was.

Even with her own wounds it seemed Weiss was more concerned about her leader, raising her voice this time as she practically demanded to know of Ruby's condition. Rather reluctantly he began to explain. The physical damage, the blood loss, and.. The man felt it best she wasn't informed of the other condition. It'd only burden her with more emotional stress even if she deserved to know ..Stupid, the word echoed a few times as the girl mentally berated herself. That Grimm was more powerful than she had initially thought. Their conditions was her fault and hers alone. Why hadn't she listened..?

"I see.. Is she awake?" "No, but we expect her to regain consciousness hopefully soon. However her injuries were far more extensive. Ms. Rose is currently still undergoing treatment in the ICU but she should survive." The doctor stated, holding a clipboard in his gloved hand. Truth be told that exact unit he had just come from, the notes in hand being requisitions for compounds they'd need to try and suppress the spread of Ruby's affliction. He handed this off to the nurse with a nod and she exited the room, only to open the door to reveal someone standing there and visibly short of breath as if they'd ran the whole way.

"Excuse me, we're not open for visitation at the current-Hey!" "Move it!" Weiss didn't have to look to be able to guess the brazen owner of that voice. Yang Xiao Long quickly dropped to her knees at Weiss' bedside, her eyes widened as she started pressuring her teammate for answers about the mission.

"Weiss! What happened? I got a call from Blake saying she saw you two being brought in and they had you and Ruby on stretchers and-"

The blonde was cut off as Weiss turned her head, glaring at the wall. "Weiss.." She couldn't do it. Guilt was eating at her. How could she tell her that it was entirely her fault her sister was struggling to cling to life? That duty would fall upon the good doctor as he retrieved a green Scroll from one of his pockets, opening it lengthwise before the screen buzzed to life with what appeared to be a mission report.

"Based on the details that we received from Ms. Goodwitch, Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose encountered a Champion class Grimm during their mission at Forever Fall station 5.. I'd say things quickly went downhill from there. Why one of that caliber was in the area I can't fathom but it might have something to do with the recent events calling more Grimm to Vale. Needless to say two 1st year Huntresses wouldn't be a match for it. Thank the gods that another Team was inbound with the transport." The man said, closing his Scroll and placing it back in his pocket to kindly request that she leave. Yang fell quiet, hands on the edge of the bed before pushing herself up and thanking both him and Weiss as she headed for the door saying something about going to wait until she could see Ruby. But..

"I'm sorry." The heiress finally spoke, causing Yang to stop and look back with a sorrowful expression. "Don't be. You're both safe, that's all that matters."

"It's my fault.." Her voice cracked, unsure if it was because of self-loathing or guilt until tears started to well in her eyes.

"Look, Weiss. You heard the doc, that's a pretty tough Grimm. Even all of us would have had a really hard time with it. There's no need to beat yourself up." Which the injured Huntress would disagree with, snapping at Yang that because of her own decisions Ruby was in the condition she was in. The decision to engage the Grimm? Hers. The decision to keep fighting when they could have escaped? Hers. The decision to stubbornly continue even when the perfect opportunity to escape was available? Again, hers. At first the blonde was confused but as Weiss went on to explain that Ruby had thrown herself in harm's way to save her and even lost Crescent Rose in the process she clenched her fists and her eyes went from lilac to crimson.

What followed next was something that would be heard for several rooms over, a screaming match for the ages as Yang relentlessly lectured, berated mostly, the prideful heiress for a good half-hour. The doctor tried several times to intervene but in all honesty he was terrified at the prospect of being the one on the receiving end of the brawler's sudden ire. However it came to a point where he recalled part of his Hippocratic Oath to not let his patients suffer, and forced himself between the two females as he informed Yang that if he continued to harass said patient he was going to have her thrown out. Which he should have done already.

She'd finally desist after that, spinning on her heel and heading for the door. With one last seething remark of understanding why Ozpin chose Ruby as the leader Yang slammed the door behind her. Letting out a long breath the man slowly turned to Weiss.

"..." "Ms. Schnee, err- I suggest you put all of this out of your mind for right now and simply get some rest."

"..What about-"

"All of your studies will be set side and filed by Ms. Goodwitch, and if anything changes in Ms. Rose's condition you'll be notified." The doctor assured, doing one last lookover to make sure the Huntress was alright before heading for the door as well. A click of the switch and the room was dark, leaving her alone to stew in her thoughts.

...

 ***a few days afterwards***

...

Weiss despised being cooped up in the room, having nothing to do but schoolwork and reflect on the events of that disastrous mission but at least the pain had receded quite a bit since then. That didn't mean her ribs weren't still sore or didn't hurt to move however but they were mending quickly. Aura Healing truly was a lifesaver.

Yang hadn't shown back up even once though Blake stopped by for a bit yesterday to check on her. Apparently the fiery Huntress was still upset. Only now she was upset at herself too for exploding and the piercing things she'd said, and wasn't ready to come apologize just yet. The Cat Faunus also hadn't heard any anything new about Ruby's condition changing and was getting worried.

Needless to say the heiress was worried as well and that worry only escalated when one of the members of Team AMJR came by to talk to the doctor. That was when she overheard the situation with Ruby's Grimmblight and obviously became very distraught once they had left. A rather befuddled nurse was the one to walk in on her trying to force herself out of bed and immediately shouted for the doctor to help get back down. All Weiss could do now was wallow in self pity for the rest of her stay, grief and anguish turning to thoughts of revenge. She ignored her piling schoolwork as she was too distracted and lost in thought to focus on something as trivial as that. Inconsequential. She'd deal with the fallout later. When she was discharged..

The heiress had immediately went straight for Ruby's room once she got changed and reclaimed Myrtenaster as some of the station attendants had retrieved and sent it and the pieces of Crescent Rose back after the Mantis abandoned the area. She'd come across both Xiao Longs waiting outside once she arrived. Neither of them looked like they had gotten much sleep lately. Hesitantly stepping forward to ask if they knew anything she only got a scoff in response from the younger one until her father gave her a look. "..Weiss." "M-Mr. Xiao Long.."

It was a tense and lengthy silence before the man broke it first with a question. "You know..?" "Yes. Have they managed to find it?" The Mantis, the one that inflicted this condition on her leader. Weiss was hoping that someone had been able to hunt down and slay the Creature of Grimm during her incapacitation. Much to her dismay the answer was a solemn shake of the head. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth Weiss then hung her head. "..I'll take care of it."

"What?" Came the utterly bewildered reply.

She was already walking away when rapid footsteps lead to a strong grip catching the back of her dress, yanking her back to meet burning red eyes. "You moron! You already screwed up once! Don't go marching off to your death!" The blonde Huntress' temper was set off again but it was more of worry than simply anger.

"What does it matter to you..? This is my fault. And my mess to clean up." Weiss snapped.

"Even the two of you couldn't kill it! What makes you think you can do it by yourself?" "I misjudged it. Besides, we were both exhausted after the mission. At peak performance I-" "Stop being so damn overconfident! This is what got you and Ruby hurt in the first place, you said it yourself! At the least.. Let us help.."

Yang's voice cracked, her eyes fading back to lilac. Weiss was confused at first but as her teammate's hands moved to take hers she'd understand. "The doctors told us that.. That Ruby might not make it. Her case is spreading fast from how much damage she took. The Hunters they dispatched couldn't find any trace of the Grimm that did it either, and she's only getting worse every day. Look I.. I'm sorry for what I said the other day, I blew my top. I-"

She was cut off as her white-haired teammate wrenched her hands free and put one palm up to her face. "No. I'm not letting any of you put yourselves in danger. I'm going to handle this myself so nobody else has to get hurt. I know if I go back, it'll come to me. That thing probably wants to finish what it started." "Weiss I'm-!" "Let her go."

Taiyang spoke firmly, addressing his daughter with crossed arms. She attempted to protest but after looking between him and Weiss before shaking her head. The sound of clicking heels faded as their owner briskly paced away, heading for a destination unknown. "Why did you-" "She's upset and not thinking straight. She's a Schnee, honey. Pride is a big thing in their family." "But it's so stupid!" "Maybe, but she's also feeling very responsible for what happened. Let her cool down, give her some time."

The brawler had an idea of what he meant. She knew about the friction that had arisen from when the Initiations were over and the Team leaders had been announced but she thought the ice queen had finally moved past that. In heart to heart moments Team RWBY had had, she realized Weiss was a good person on the inside despite her chilly exterior. She was always the person to try and keep a level head as well, but right now she was not only being cold but also impulsive, contradicting the earnest efforts she'd been making to better herself. Why couldn't she accept their help? Why did she want to put this burden on herself? Why did she want to do it herself?

The answers came right back around again in two pieces after a few minutes of thought. Pride and guilt. Or perhaps.. It was likely also- No, it couldn't be that. Weiss and Ruby had gotten close but..

"Sorry dad, I'm gonna go after her. If she really takes off.." "Don't go alone. Please." Her father asked. The blonde brawler nodded and turned to walk down the hall, heading right for their dorm room. She figured Weiss would go there first to prepare. Her assumption would only be proven correct as after the long trek she went to go open the door only to find it locked. Even her Scroll wouldn't open it. Was it jammed? Yang started pounding the door. "Weiss! Weiss! I know you're in there! Open up!" "I'm sorry Yang, but go away!" Bingo.

Cursing loudly Yang allowed her Aura to surge a bit before taking a step or two back. Then with a growl her boot slammed into the door, smashing it open. Only to be met by the tip of Myrtenaster and a flash of white blue. "I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you come with me. Please understand, this is for your sake.."

Yang's now Ice Dust encased form fell over into the room with a clank, Weiss exiting and dashing away.

...

 ***a short amount of time later***

...

Hot. It was hot. And bright. And sort of wet? Opening her eyes the blonde saw another standing over her with what looked like a heat lamp. "I didn't think anything could freeze YOU of all people.. Let me guess, had a fight with Weiss?"

The concerned and friendly face of Jaune Arc was standing over her holding said lamp. Apparently he'd been thawing her out for a good while now. With a gasp Yang was on her feet, clothes still damp from the melted ice. "Weiss! She- Where is she?" "Weiss? I saw her on the way here about.. I dunno. An hour ago? Said something about going on a mission and hey!" "Come on Vomit Boy!" Yang grasped Jaune by one of his biceps, using her other hand to retrieve her Scroll and dial up a number. _"Please answer, please answer, plea_ \- Blake!"

"Yang? What's wrong? ..Did you just get out of the shower?" The Faunus asked with a grin as her face appeared on the screen. "You look-" "Meet me outside! We've got to go after Weiss!" "What?" "The stupid ice princess took off on her own! I think she went back to Forever Fall!" "She what?! Great.. I'll be there soon!" The screen went black as she thrust the Scroll back into her pocket, the fumbling Arc in tow as they headed for Beacon Academy's grounds.

"Hardheaded little- Hang on Weiss!"

* * *

 _Oh snap. Weiss is on a rampage. Clearly not thinking straight. What happened to the calculating, cautious, and careful Weiss? *insert the Star Wars meme 'You were the chosen one!'* The Only Sane (wo)Man of the Team! ..Well except for Blake sorta. Guess that's what happens when you let a guilty conscience and a bruised ego get to you. is she heading off to her death or will Yang and the others make it in time to stop/save her? Find out on the next episode of RWBY Z!_

 _I was a bit worried about her coming off as OOC, since she HAS been developing in the show and she has been shown to be more of a smart player than an impulsive one, but I think I managed to properly convey the justifications for how she's been portrayed so far. This won't be her last encounter with the Mantis but hopefully it'll be a humbling one. IF she survives. *evil cackling* Of course I kid. And I think I might be coming up with an OC out of that Bullhead pilot.. My brain gets the oddest ideas from the strangest places. Already have a grasp on his weapon and Semblance._

 _Also if you haven't guessed it by now, the reference in the last chapter was of the R-1/A from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, which is a purely airborne variant of the VTOL G.U.N. mech/walker piloted by Flying Dog himself. Had one of the coolest G.U.N. boss voices as well. This deep and serious business voice that meant he was about to come 'gun' you down. Get it?_

 _Well, probably gonna be occupied with work tomorrow but I hope to stay frequent with chapter updates. At least get two more chapters, possibly three before the weekend is over depending on my hours. Catch y'all later and.._

 _Inspectre Offline!_


	5. Vicious Cycle

_A wild chapter appeared! I mean Inspectre Online!_

 _Yeah I kinda got sidetracked with stuff and didn't get a chapter out Thor's Day like I wanted but I can't really guarantee a set schedule in my line of work. Anyhoot.._

 _To KibaPT. No. No they don't. I might be able to sneak in an Abrigded version reference or two even.._

 _To LDR. Hey now stick yourself in Weiss' shoes. Though I gotta say scolding the Weissicle might not be a good idea.. Yang already did that anyway._

 _To the Mysterious Stranger- I mean guest (what do you mean this isn't Fallout either). Ruby's developed since the story started. Her quick thinking skills and ability to properly strategize have been especially shown in the fight against the Paladin warmech and it seems Weiss confirmed this in the last episode. "I have a plan." "You always do." So she's shown some improvement in thinking ability. As for Weiss's 'OOCness' I explained that in chapter 3. Left some bits a bit vague though because spoilers. Winter on the other hand I'm not 100% sure I have nailed down but hey._

 _So Weiss has stormed off to take on the Mantis once more, letting her emotions get the better of her logic and reasoning. Maybe there's a motivation other than typical Schnee pride or guilt over her incompetence and misjudgement.. Wait and Schnee. ..Heh. Can the dragon, cat, and knight make it in time or will Weiss be turned into frozen sashimi? Find out on the next episode oooof- Wait that's this chapter. Carry on then!_

* * *

It had taken longer than any of them would have liked but they managed to catch a ride back to Forever Fall. In a strange coincidence it had been the exact same transport and pilot that had originally carried Weiss and Ruby to and from the station for their mission. The VTOL had swiftly risen and taken off for the eternally autumn forest, following the very long train track that ran through it.

"Stupid.. What the Hell is she thinking?" Yang shouted at nothing in particular as she punched the wall, the pilot coming over the PA to request she not bang up their only way of getting anywhere. "Sorry. Uuugh! I told her to stop acting like this but she doesn't listen!"

"I agree, it's pretty unlike her. I mean.. Weiss was always one for reason." Blake replied with a shake of her head, fingers tracing over Gambol Shroud's sheath as Jaune sat against the wall looking just a tad pale.

"So we get in there, grab her and run. I'll distract it and-" "I think I have a better idea.." The knight interrupted with a raised hand before bringing it back down to his stomach. It looked like he hasn't really gotten over his motion sickness completely yet. After getting a curious look he began to explain, right as the perimeter of the station came into view. Though the actual combat was taking place a fair distance away.

The situation was dark and it was clear as day that the heiress stood no chance in her current state against the Mantis. It had hardly taken any visible damage that hadn't been done in the first battle, whereas while nothing critical Weiss had been dealt much more in return. Her dress was stained crimson from several lacerations on her back and one down the center of her front. There were signs of destruction all around. Ashen ground and flickering craters filled with embers, permafrost and spikes of ice.. Weiss had gone all out against her opponent that much was evident.

Though it was for naught as she continued her attack, striking madly and without any sort of finesse. Rapid thrusts, slicing that was more akin to hacking and slashing, anger etched across her almost flawless face with a fire in her blue eyes. The Mantis parried if not outright dodged her attacks with ease, finally sending her back with a lashing kick of its front legs. She rolled across the ground but quickly recovered, digging Myrtenaster's point into the ground to slow herself. Catching the sight of a Bullhead coming in fast she scowled, cursing and rising as the chamber of her rapier spun.

The hatch popped open, revealing at least one face the heiress had expected. Blake too obviously though and of course Jaune. Despite he and Pyrrha having finally come together after the battle of Beacon the male still pursued her. Though it was more to try and be a friend to the cold heiress now and honestly after the stunts he pulled at the dance she had to admit there was a likeable side to the male.

Though that was not something to think about in the midst of a life or death battle as she turned her attention back to the insect Grimm, tuning out the shouts of her teammates. It looked up with a questioning hiss before instinctively covering its head with its foreclaws, parting them slightly when an expected attack never came. A single gunshot and Gambol Shroud came flying for Weiss instead of her target, catching and looping around her midsection a few times before the VTOL flew past. Then the attack came, a storm of carefully aimed shells from Ember Celica preventing the Mantis from interfering. With a yelp the heiress was jerked from the ground, sailing through the air.

"C'mon, pull dammit!" "My muscles aren't as big Yang!" The blonde and raven-haired Huntresses argued as they both started reeling in their 'catch'. Jaune went to help before seeing the Grimm start skittering for one of the larger skyward pointed ice formations. With a cross slash it broke it off at the base, holding it between its claws like a pair of chopsticks before it turned to aim and throw the projectile. With deadly precision..

Jaune was quicker to react as he expanded his shield and braced himself upon seeing it break the ice, thinking back to every time in training and on missions he had seen Pyrrha perform the same trick he was about to with Akouo. After detaching it there was a single loud yell and a twist as he threw the shield half of Crocea Mors on a surprisingly accurate path to the flying ice spike, shattering right through it and coming back around to his person before he tossed it aside and went to help the two females.

"How-" "Lots of practice. ..I didn't expect it to come back though, maybe I got lucky and-" "Shut your traps and PULL." Yang yelled before he went to add his own strength in with theirs, finally bringing Weiss aboard after another minute or so. The rather infuriated Creature of Grimm hissed and glared at the retreating aircraft before skittering off into the undergrowth, apparently agitated it lost its quarry yet again.

Blake quickly unwound the ribbon from around Weiss, who was shooting all of them dirty looks as she jumped to her feet and immediately went off on Yang. "Why did you come here? I told you not to!"

"Yeah well news flash princess, you're not the leader. Not even a de facto one."

"Dolt. Barbarain. Fool. Dunce! That doesn't matter! This is something I want to take care of myself!" She was trying to adamantly stand her ground on her point but a combination of dizziness from blood loss and exhaustion from overexertion were taking their toll.

"You're not strong enough to face that thing on your own. Accept it. Even all of us together might not be. We need to return to Beacon now and-" "No! Absolutely not!" Blake's attempted line of reasoning was cut off as Weiss turned on her, Myrtenaster flicking about as she huffed. "I refuse! You three would just be in my way! It's not your problem to take care of anyway! Like Yang said, I-"

"I was upset okay? People say things they don't mean when they're upset, like you're doing now." The brawler shot back, eyes narrowing with a hint of sadness in them. That comment had stung a bit but she still cared for her teammate and seeing her act like this was frustrating in more ways than one.

"Turn this ship around.. I can still fight.." The heiress spoke coldly, turning back towards the hatch as she glanced over her rapier. Jaune had been silent the entire time, partially for fear of throwing himself into the conflict and out of surprise at the change in her normally collected personality. However he finally managed to find his voice only to be cut off as a sharp crack could be heard. Weiss started to slump before Yang caught her, having delivered a swift and precise strike to the back of her neck to knock her unconscious after she shifted her gauntlets back their bracer form.

"Y-Yang why did you do that? She's already hurt enough as it is!" He asked, looking almost scared as he watched the Yang set her down on her front so she could start seeing to the large gashes on her back. Too bad she didn't have any- Or at least hadn't had any medical supplies but there suddenly seemed to be a kit sitting by the pilot door that Blake snatched and brought over to them.

"Just to shut her up and stop her from doing something stupid.. I don't get it. What IS her problem?" The others didn't have an answer except for silence as the aircraft began its return to Beacon. The pilot radioed yet again to have a medical team on standby once they got there. Sewing the wounds shut wasn't something Yang wanted to try on an airborne vehicle even if was relatively stable but she would go about disinfecting and cleaning them at least as they all gazed down on their unconscious teammate and friend.

...

 ***some time later***

...

Well at least this time it wasn't such a hazy awakening, or a slow one. In fact once she was conscious Weiss would immediately bolt upright. The only pain this time being a light soreness on her back and a throbbing one in her skull. "Oh gods the back of my head.. Huh?"

Green. White. Chrome. ..And silver. And blue and yellow and other sorts of colors as she blinked, seeing two figures sitting near her. One was her older sister, Winter, and she didn't look very happy. Not angry but it was clear something was on her mind as she sat with one leg crossed, fingers intertwined in her lap. Then there was Jaune who seemed to be sticking around, sleeping in his chair or at least dozing off. "W-Winter.." "Weiss."

..Silence. Uncomfortable and apprehensive silence as the two Schnees locked eyes before the younger one backed down and looked down at her lap. "So.. I hear you've gotten yourself into quite a situation. Do you care to explain yourself?" Winter spoke of the 'feud' that seemed to have arisen between her sister and the Creature of Grimm, taking a few papers from one of the two AK-200s standing behind her. No doubt there were two others outside but aside from that they were the only ones within the room. And Jaune, couldn't forget him. Even if she wanted to at times.

Glancing aside at her older sister the heiress attempted to but apparently it had been posed as a rhetorical question for when she started, Winter immediately rolled up the papers and popped her across the top of her head with them before frowning. "Endangering the lives of your fellow Hunters and with what I must agree are very poor and grievous errors in judgement! Yourself included! What on Remnant has gotten into you Weiss?"

The sting of her words was a thousand times worse than that tap on the head or even Yang's KO hit. Weiss bit her lip and clenched her fists. "..Go ahead, I'm listening." The paper were then unrolled and smoothed out before Winter shuffled them, sparing no more than a second glance before paying full attention to the girl.

"..I made a mistake, alright?" "It seems to me you made more than A mistake.." Weiss cringed and took a deep breath.

"... I misjudged. I was overconfident and just a little bit worn from the mission. I wasn't thinking clearly." This much was true. It had taken longer than the heiress would have liked though neither of them could have predicted to see so many Beowulves around. Packs weren't usually so large.. "So when the Mantis showed up I decided it would be best to sweep it aside and complete the mission. Things.. Didn't go that well. It was a lot stronger than I thought. Ruby suggested we retreat but I was getting annoyed at how things were going. I knew it was a smart idea but.." "You persisted." Right on the nail. Weiss nodded an affirmation and continued.

"We had the perfect chance to run but I was foolish. I pressed our chance to take it down and it backfired. And she.. She got hurt because of me. She could die because of me..!" At this point tears were quickly welling in her eyes and with a single stride Winter was on her bedside, sitting beside her and taking her into an embrace so her younger sister could cry into her chest. She ran one of her gloved hands over her back in a soothing manner while the other was placed atop her head, whispering words of comfort to her.

It was a few minutes before Weiss regained her composure, leaning back with a few sniffles as her sister gently blotted her tears away with a handkerchief. "I'm sorry I- "Don't be. Continue, please."

The heiress leaned back a little more away from her and clasped her hands together, looking down for a good while in reflective silence. "I heard about Ruby's condition a while back, how's she getting worse and worse and there's nothing they can do to stop it.. Nobody could find the Grimm let alone kill it, so I figured it'd come back if I went." "And you didn't bother to call your friends? Your other teammates?" Winter asked with a curious glance before Weiss shook her head.

"I didn't want to risk putting them in the same situation.. If I failed I would be the only one that had to pay for it-" "You're wrong." The older sister interrupted with a forlorn look in her eyes, placing one hand over Weiss's and softly squeezing it. "Those friends and teammates, how do you think they'd feel if they lost not one but two people close to them this way? How do you think I'd feel, Weiss? There is strength in unity but you can't let fear get the better of you. As Huntresses and Huntsmen we know what we're signing up for, to put the lives of others above our own. We risk those lives so that others may not have to feel this way. To protect them."

"It's not just that I'm afraid of them getting hurt or even killed, I-" "That you don't have to explain. I can tell what's going through your mind dear sister. Your pride as a Huntress and a Schnee is equally troubling as the guilt you feel from what happened as a result." Winter stated. She was at a loss for words but her sister was right when she stopped to think about it for a second. "If.. If I can't kill that Mantis I-" "Put that worry out of your mind, I've already made arrangements. I can have an elite team of Hunters standing by to assist you the next time you wish to pursue it, unwise as it may be it's clear this _thing_ seems to have a grudge as even professional trackers cannot find it within the area."

Weiss silently thanked her before tightening her fists once more, muttering something inaudible. "..Winter." "Hm?" "I.. Still can't do it." "Pardon?" She looked up at the woman before gazing over at Myrtenaster, the rapier leaning against the small table at her bedside. "Summoning with my Semblance. I tried so hard to make it work but I just couldn't. I don't even remember how I did it last time but I managed to bring out its arm and sword."

She spoke of the battle against the renegade Atlesian robots and Grimm at the battle of Beacon where in order to keep them away from Velvet Scarletina she had managed to perform a partial summon and split one of the new Paladins. True her objective was that machine but what was so different in that situation? Why could she do it then and not now?

Winter raised an eyebrow and then smiled. "An arm and a sword.. So your summon is _that_ one? The Giant Armor Knight.. Perhaps it's not your power or skill then, but your will." Digressing to explain due to the confused look she got the woman asked Weiss what she thought of when she heard the word 'knight'. Discounting the Atlesian Knights behind her though there was a reason they got their name from the figures of old.

"Knights? Fairy tales always embellish them as these heroic chivalrous figures that slay dragons, go on quests to save princesses, or fight evil wizards and all sorts of undead things." "The common definition if you please." Winter asked, smiling just a bit. "Well.. They were trained soldiers that fought wars for king and country. They upheld the law, hunted down the nefarious villains that threatened to disrupt the peace of the Kingdoms.." "Above all else, Weiss, what were they?" What were they? It was hard to pinpoint an exact detail. They were lots of things really. Some cases weren't as heroic or praise-worthy but in general.. She was stumped for an answer.

It seemed Winter wasn't going to give her a direct one as she then got up, smoothing out her clothes and looking over at the apparently still sleeping Jaune. "Take him with you." Weiss remarked with a neutral tone and expression, tilting her head after her sister simply smiled again. "Actually, you might find the answer from him. The Arcs are well-known from their involvement in the Great Wars after all." "You're joking." "Who knows?" The woman asked jokingly before turning and heading for the doorway. She sent the two escorts out first before going herself, shutting the door loudly enough that Jaune awoke with a start and tumbled out of his chair.

"Very smooth." Weiss remarked with a roll of her eyes as the male got up and dragged the chair closer to her bed. "So, my sister.. She told me to ask you about knights. What they were."

"Huh? What? Are you okay? You looked a little beat up when they brought you in and I was worried so-" "Jaune." The heiress cut him off with a slightly narrowed gaze before softening as she assured him she was fine and going to be 'A-okay'. Then she urged him on to continue, perplexed by her sister's words.

"Right.. Knights huh? Like the old knights that wore silver armor and slayed dragons and-" "The less fantasy kind." "Oh." Jaune chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "They were defenders of the people obviously. They protected the weak and helpless from evil, like the Grimm. Or other bad people."

"Like Huntsmen and Huntresses." Weiss noted.

"Yeah! Heroes y'know? They're supposed to be these honest and good figures you could always rely on, that followed the good path of righteousness and justice. My family sorta goes back a long way and it's actually part of our heritage. That's why my ancestors used weapons like this and why I have one now. Yeah it's a hand-me-down but it's a pretty tough one." The blonde said with a smile, rapping his knuckles on the sheath/shield of Crocea Mors.

"Right. Because I imagine a knight in shining armor when I hear your name." "Hey you did call me a hero once." "That was sar- Never mind." She shook her head and facepalmed. Not that she wasn't giving some thought to what he said. Defenders.. Maybe that was it? She had been focusing so much on using her Semblance's summoning as a weapon for attacking.. No, that was unlikely. It was just a phantasm, a bad memory that now served her. Did it really matter?

"A lot of people looked up to my great great grandfather actually. At least in the stories my sisters told me and they heard them from my mom and dad and they heard them from their parents and so on. He was a shining example of a good knight. Everyone could rely on him too if they were in trouble 'cause he did everything in his power to help whoever he could. I wanna live up to my family name so that's why I came to Beacon. It's nice, being relied on instead of relying on other people. That's not always a bad thing though. I guess that's why Ozpin made me the leader. So I could learn stuff like that?" Weiss didn't have an answer for him honestly though it was partially because she hadn't been paying too much attention. She heard but didn't really process it.

While Jaune was rambling on on another subject, something about how different knights used lances or spears or simply longswords by themselves she kept doing circles with that train of thought. Why she couldn't use her Semblance to that extent. If she could summon that arm again or a Grimm like her sister.. It'd greatly tip the scales in her favor she was sure.

"-and okay maybe it doesn't have a gun in it but not many people appreciate the classics like Ruby said so I-" "Jaune." "Yes?" "..Enough. I get it." She let out a short huff of breath, her eyelids starting to feel heavy again for some reason. However she'd give the male a small smile before making a shooing motion with her hand. "Oh, right. Get well soon Weiss. We're all worried for you so uh, please don't do anything crazy like that again?" There was a medium pause before the heiress replied that she'd try but there weren't going to be any promises. He seemed to accept this with a nod before getting up and heading for the door, closing it gently with a click.

That left Weiss to fall back on her bed as she suddenly felt inexplicably exhausted. Her entire body was begging for rest due to the strain she'd put on it earlier today. That little knockout she'd been given was by no means any kind of good sleep so the heiress quickly fell into a slumber, thoughts racing over everything Winter and Jaune had told her before dreamland claimed her.

Thankfully their words seemed to have an effect on the troubled heiress for instead of attempting another escape Weiss, once discharged, would go back to classes and work to make up for everything she missed in pursuit of the Mantis. At least that's what it looked like but in truth every thought Weiss now had was now on training. Training her body, mind, and her Semblance. She couldn't get Ruby out of her mind either and it was driving her crazy. Why was she thinking so much of the little red Huntress? Sure she was her leader and while a rough start around the time of their Initiations they had gotten to know each other better and even get along afterwards, once the ice queen started to defrost. In fact lately they had gotten rather close, going on co-op missions more often and even doing what Yang and Blake (everyone except Weiss herself basically) would describe as 'hanging out'.

In the morning after breakfast before classes, in between classes, after classes before bed.. Dust control, rapier fencing, body training, Semblance practice which unfortunately just would not bear fruit no matter how hard she tried.. To say she had merely improved within a week of the harsh regimen she imposed on herself would be an understatement as her professors would note.

She never stopped thinking about her black and red partner however and would often contact the doctor in charge to see how she was doing, which the answer was always something along the lines of 'she's hanging in there' or 'she's fighting'. Nobody had been allowed in her room since being admitted aside from the medical staff however. Yang and Taiyang came by frequently, Qrow as well to sit or stand outside her room and give their best wishes. Even JNPR and SSSN once in awhile stopped to give theirs as well.

There wasn't a lot of time to devote to training however. Sooner or later the heiress knew she'd have to face that Creature of Grimm once more before Ruby succumbed to her condition, but she wasn't sure if she was going to follow through with Winter's idea. Yes it'd mean better chances but what if it saw a full Team of Hunters and evaded them? Besides, no matter how much she denied it part of her was still burning to confront it alone. She felt this was a burden she must bear and lift herself. Reason and emotion argued constantly but one would ring out louder one night when Weiss was on her way to make a visit.

The heiress slowly walked down the hallway, every click of her heels like an echo in her mind as she started to round another corner when the door to the scythe wielder's room flew open. The doctor came through, followed by what sounded like Professor Goodwitch as they seemed to be discussing her condition.

"Ms. Goodwitch, I'm sorry.. There's nothing more that we can do for her now. Everything we've thrown at this case has been barely able to slow it, let alone suppress it." What? She froze and stuck to the wall, back to it as she held her breath and listened in.

"I-I see.." "To be frank I'm simply shocked she's managed to hold on this long but the Grimmblight is starting to spread out of control. If it extends to any of her vital organs or her brain the results could be permanent if not swiftly fatal. We-" "How long?" The teacher asked with apprehension in her voice. The man seemed to be at a loss for words as he flipped papers over on his clipboard. Not that he was avoiding her question even though he was hesitant to answer.

"If.. If it continues on at this rate then she has less than two days. Two days until the Grimmblight is predicted to do so." Weiss' breath hitched in her throat. As much as the sudden revelation had her wanting to slide down to the floor and cry she held on, back flat against the wall.

"This is horrible.. I should go. I must speak to the Headmaster about this matter." "A-And her family? Her-" "Notify Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long. They deserve to know. As for her friends and teammates.. That will be up to their discretion." The doctor nodded and slowly began to walk back into the room, sending Glynda one last look before closing the door behind him. A long and deep forlorn sigh came from the woman before she started to walk, thankfully the other way as she whispered something about how tragic it was that such a promising young Huntress was facing a crisis like this.

It was then and there that reasoning gave way completely to rampant emotions. There was no more time, none to spare for training or playing around in school. Her fingers glanced over her Scroll for a brief moment in contemplation before she found enough composure to start moving. Almost subconsciously her feet took her to her dorm room, thankfully empty at the current moment as the other half of Team RWBY were probably out for some occasion. As quickly as she could Weiss started packing. Dust, a few scant supplies, her Scroll just in case. Honestly she didn't know if she was about to charge straight for her death but she was determined to claim victory this time. It was all or nothing.

Unlike the last time where she'd stormed off with anger and desperation clouding her mind, or indeed how she'd been feeling just moments prior Weiss felt strangely calm as she started to prepare. Myrtenaster was inspected, cleaned, reloaded.. Her Snow Pea outfit was exchanged for her school uniform and after a few exercises and a half hour was ready for one final confrontation. The heiress knew if she failed here there'd be no second chances.

Looking out the window at the clear night sky Weiss frowned, grabbing her things and opening the window. With one last look back at her room she whispered something before stepping from the ledge.

It wouldn't be until several hours later that Blake and Yang came back to find the single tear-stained note on the heiress' bed, bidding farewell and that she was sorry.

* * *

 _Alright, time for a proper A/N.. And why not reply while I'm down here?_

 _To sum it up.. What Cloy552 said. Again Weiss? Really?! Though things seem to be a bit different this time. Much higher stakes are being played for and that might just be what's needed.. We'll finally see her development though!_

 _For LDR.. That training will show and she'll be in much better shape to let it. No exhaustion from fighting a jillion Beowulves or temper clouding her mind.. As for saving Ruby, wait and see! One thing's for sure. Whether or not she wins it'll be one heck of a fight! Generally won't be glossing it like the last one so look forward to it._

 _For the anonymous guest again. I was wondering why I didn't see your review on here but did in my Gmail. I had to moderate it or something? Went ahead and approved it so it'll probably show up sooner or later but replying to it anyway. Yep, and wrong. Ruby's also shown the capability to know when to back off. Not fighting Mercury in the maintenance hall (even calling up someone on her Scroll unless she expected her rocket locker to burrow through the tunnel to get to her, before Mercury shot it out of her hand) and instead running back to the stadium, fleeing with everyone else from the combo, she's not very cautious you're right but she's not stupid either. A small margin of her engagements by comparison but there's proof. This is also set some time after V3 so after what happened at Beacon there's room to say she's changed a bit. This has gone into AU territory anyway with how it ended and forcing it from semi-canon as well so.._

 _I'll give you all of those except the first. Not like she needs a babysitter to go into town or to a shop. Granted it might be questionable what a 15 year old girl is doing out late at night in a Dust store reading magazines but still._

 _So I don't think she's OOC in that case. Maybe very slightly. She was all for helping Weiss against the Mantis right up until she got seriously injured so I didn't forget about her impulsive side there when she immediately agreed to support her. Don't know what to tell you beyond that but yeah. Not disagreeing with you on the other bits but I think her decision to finally retreat from the Mantis is a feasible one, if that's what you're meaning. Otherwise I'm confused but that's what I was getting from your first review._

 _So I don't know if I'll be able to get the last chapter out until Tuesday, maaaybe Monday but don't bet on it. As for the epilogue it'll probably be a short and sweet bit. Last chapter will likely be either a whopper of a post or split into two but I don't really wanna do that. Then afterwards.. I'm leaning towards my Starcraft cross-AU (likely just going to start off with a oneshot and write more if it's requested/well-received or just move on. After that, character work. I still have a lot of roleplay character biographies to finish on ReignOfBlood (hit me up, ID # is 121609, go by Spectre most times) so I might take a break to do that.. Not sure yet. Well, see y'all next time!_

 _Inspectre Offline._


	6. Pass or Fail

_"Goliath Onli-" Hey get outta there, I'm piloting this thing._

 _Coming to you not live from some where cold, in Florida. Thought Florida was supposed to be warm and sunny.._

 _So, here we go. It's the final countdoooown! I'm not actually listening to that right now though I'm listening to I Still Believe by TIm Capello but that doesn't matter. What matters is what's going to happen in the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. In the blue corner we have Weiss 'ice queen' Schnee! 5'7"? and weighing in at a staggering two pounds, armed with a silver toothpick! In the red corner we have the Mantis Creature of Grimm, I'd say about twelve feet or so? At least in height, length is even longer. Armed with a pair of wheat cutters. Place your bets folks! My Lien is Weiss-ly being placed on the feisty heiress hint hint. ..What do you mean I can't bet because I'm the author and I already know what's going to happen? Maaan that was gonna be easy money._

 _Anyway enough playing around, "let's get into the fight." *clicks on some select Rise Against songs to help with the writing* *also if anybody has played StarCraft II they know who I just quoted*_

* * *

Why was she doing this? It was foolish. Her hands were shaking slightly for there was a very real chance she was going to meet Death tonight. It was too late to go back though and she'd never, ever forgive herself for running. The voice of reason in her mind had come back out to scream internally at her. Call Winter. Don't go down there alone. Another was shouting back.. There's no time to lose. Don't let this Grimm continue to humiliate you. Show it the error of defying a Schnee. That she tried to ignore but it was impossible. Though she still believed she was doing this for her partner's sake a small part of her knew and refused to acknowledge that her pride was also the issue.

Thinking back the shaking was probably also partly due to the turbulence of the Bullhead she was currently sitting in as it tore through the skies over Vale, heading for an all too familiar place. Forever Fall Station 5. Myrtenaster was in her lap across her legs with a satchel by her side. It had been completely silent for the whole trip so far until a certain voice called to her from the front.

"Y'know you're crazy for doing this right lady?" The pilot 'Flying Dog' stated rather humorously. Truth be told that was just a temporary codename for his current job of ferrying students to and from Beacon. With a rather curt reply Weiss told him to go back to being quiet and continue to do his job.

"I'm just saying Ms. Schnee. This is the third time I've taken you to fight that damn thing. One of these days I think I won't be going back for you but for a bodybag."

"You're being paid to fly, not to think." She exclaimed, a small bit of irritation in her voice.

"I shouldn't have taken the money. I wasn't supposed to be here today anyway and you're too young to be throwing yourself into danger like this. Kinda hypocritical considering my story but I won't bore you with it."

"Please don't."

"Cold." He said with a chuckle. "So what's the deal? This thing call you mean names?" ..Nothing. Tough crowd. "How's your friend? Still hanging on?"

"..There's no time left."

The man seemed to understand what she meant, after all he was the one who called in the incident before they arrived. It was once again quiet until a beep signified their nearing of the landing zone at which point Weiss started to stand and gather her things. One last glance over her rapier and a few test spins of the Dust chambers before she placed one hand beside the door, leaning against it and gathering her thoughts. A few deep but slow calming breaths.. A few moments to think.. They were there before she realized it, touching down just beside the track outside of the station grounds.

"Not having second thoughts are you Ms. Schnee? If you don't go in 100% you really won't be coming back. Hell I should be stopping you right about now, a 1st year even of your pedigree will have serious trouble just standing their ground against a Champion class Grimm." "I'm fine!" She snipped, taking another calming breath before watching as the compartment opened and taking a step back. The night was still cloudless, broken moon illuminating the eerily silent crimson forest as she stepped out. Hearing something fall with a thump she looked back to see the pilot canopy close, a red medical bag laying on the ground.

"You're gonna thank me after you're done." His voice came from the external speakers as the compartment closed.

"Thanks for the indirect vote of confidence? I'll call when I'm ready." The heiress stated. After all this time she was going deeper into the forest to find her reclusive target. The Bullhead on the other hand would be staying behind. Thanks to the two Huntresses Grimm activity nearby had been quite low so between the station defences and the Atlesian Knight-130s it was relatively safe there, even so late.

After grabbing the bag and hoisting it over her shoulder Weiss began to walk, with no particular location in mind. Just a general direction. The last time she looked back at the station it was a speck between the trees.

...

 ***approximately one hour later***

...

She had been wandering for some time now, how long she wasn't sure but she was starting to fear the Mantis had fled entirely. Suddenly she got this.. Feeling. A feeling of being watched. Her Aura was warning her. The Huntress stopped, rapier at the ready as she glanced left and right. Then.. Up.

Weiss barely had time to react as a blade came whistling from above, catching perpendicular on her own blade and resting on it by her head. Cold blue eyes met burning red ones as the Mantis was perched on the tree facing downward like some kind of killer laying in wait. Its four walking legs were stretched out to mostly encircle the trunk and hold it in place. No wonder it had the epithet of an assassin..

There had hardly been any force behind the scythe-like claw and the Creature of Grimm was barely bothering to put pressure down with it. Almost like it had been testing her. Then it did something the heiress would remember for a long time.

 _"Schneeeee.."_

Her eyes widened slightly in shock. It had been almost like a hiss but it spoke. It spoke her name of all things. There was no doubt about it now. This was an old Grimm to have that kind of intelligence. With a dry and bitter reply of 'Mantis' she took a step back. Then another. Then a few more as the rapier was withdrawn. For some inexplicable reason her opponent did nothing but angle its head as she did so to watch before hopping off of the tree and staring at her.

"..This ends tonight. No more. I'm going to slay you here and now." With a confident and determined look in her eyes Weiss thrust her weapon forwards, the Mantis immediately crossing its foreclaws defensively out of reflex. ..Several moments later when there was no actual attack like it expected they parted and came back down to body level. Then its head tilted curiously before the insect Grimm stepped left and right while Weiss shook her own.

She was definitely in her zone now. Fully composed, stance taken as Myrtenaster was drawn back ready to strike. A single click and a white/gold Glyph appeared underneath her, taking the form of a clock face as a faint glow appeared around her body. Time Dilation. She'd need it to keep up with her opponent's speed. Strategies and tactics were already being formulated and decided on in her mind as she took the medical bag and tossed it by a nearby rock.

In a swift motion the Huntress moved forward leaving behind an afterimage as she went for a direct stab, countered by a horizontal cross slash that slid right through her midsection and bisected her.

At least that's what it had looked like but the attack was merely a feint as the fencer smartly juked backwards right as it moved, bolting forward once the blades passed through another afterimage. Her boots barely made a sound as they hit the tops before carrying her forward to try and stab at one of its eyes, leaping from the perfectly positioned foreclaws. Much to the surprise of both combatants that stab was a direct hit, piercing its target by just an inch or two before the Mantis flew back with a screech. If only she had gotten further she might have been able to kill it in that single shot..

Instead the rapier was removed, or rather the movement of the Mantis pulling itself away freed the weapon as the wielder landed with a smirk. "Game point.." Of course the heiress knew better than to think she'd made the results of the duel a forgone conclusion with that hit, but that didn't stop her from attempting to rub it in on the Grimm that had given her so much grief.

As it recovered and glared at her with its now dark bloody eye it started skittering around her in a circle. A wide one at that as if it were evaluating her, and she'd meet it by keeping her left side to it at all times. A hiss or low screech every now and then that she'd simply tune out. Perhaps this time IT had been the one to underestimate HER. A very costly mistake, one that struck home for the heiress as she got a firsthand look from the opposite side what that could do.

Finally ready, the Creature of Grimm shot forward with an overhand slice as another click signified a change in Dust. That claw embedded in the soil after being swiftly sidestepped and all it took was a cherry tap from the tip of her weapon to lock it down in a blooming formation of ice. Then the other claw came, from the side this time. A second click and the rapier gained a scarlet glow before bouncing the incoming threat back. Weiss took advantage of the opening to move, jerking left and right to avoid both of the foreleg stabs then jump. The following skyward slice left a large gash across its chest before landing on the ice-locked claw, spinning Myrtenaster in hand and catching it in a reverse grip before stabbing downward to sever it.

That elicited an almost earsplitting shriek from the Mantis as it skittered backwards, shadowy red blood dripping from the stump as the left behind limp disappeared in a burst of black smoke. With Weiss gently touching down and preparing to take another stance she'd smirk again. The training had really paid off that much was evident, or- ..No. Something was wrong. This was _too_ easy.

She took a few paces back, grin giving way to a nervous but determined look again as her opponent simply stared and 'spoke' once more. _"Stronger.."_

It seemed to be referring to Weiss although her expression changed to a look of horror as she realized it also could be applied to her opponent upon seeing what it was starting to do. Not just the wound now but its entire body was starting to issue a black and red gas that obscured it from view. Strange and unnerving growls came from within as it twitched and spasmed, sucking the essence back in to reveal a meaner and more terrifying visage.

The Grimm's eye and foreclaw had healed/regrown, that was the first thing she noticed. Following another look over the heiress also noticed the changes in physiology. The legs had lost their tapered thimble 'shoes' and instead had long barbs along all four sides to end in long three clawed feet. The thorax had gained bigger spikes along the top and the white bone plate was thicker now, red lines running across like a spiderweb and glowing brightly. Those foreclaws it had were also sharper, thicker, longer.. The prehensile whip-like feelers extending from holes in the tips had also regrown and she would swear the Grimm had gotten overall.. Larger. The worst thing were its eyes though. The eyes were glowing just as brightly and they had dilated to a hideous degree. No longer spewing like a punctured fire extinguisher the crimson and onyx smoke simply came off of it like a light steam after the transformation finished.

There was no denying it had empowered itself somehow and that this could be very bad for the Huntress. However she couldn't let it daunt her and with a swallow retook her stance, Myrtenaster poised to intercept. The Mantis' wings flitted from its back, moving to increase its speed. Weiss would do the same as she refreshed her Time Dilation Glyph in preparation. Sure it was fast but so was she. At least that was the reasoning she'd arrived at. Though just how strong had this enemy gotten..?

The answer was given swiftly. Gone before she'd even processed it visually. All Weiss registered was a gust of wind and a searing pain in her left eye as she dropped. The Mantis had flown right by and practically slit it with a single lightning fast strike. Literally an eye for an eye. That irritated her beyond belief but she couldn't let herself lose composure now. Yes it stung with a pain indescribable but she stood her ground. ..After she got up anyway, but now the situation was very dire. She couldn't match that speed and now she was half blind and in pain.

The Grimm was toying with her. Again. The wings receded as the Mantis turned, letting out a low hiss and crossing its foreclaws in 'prayer' just to rub it in. How she hated it but what could she do now.. The Dust chamber clicked, Weiss having thought of a plan to counter that ridiculous speed should it try that again. Her rapier was thrust into the ground, her Aura swelling a bit as she released a large amount of Ice Dust and froze a good fifty yards of the earth in every direction. That'd likely not stop it from fighting normally but it'd think twice when traction was now an issue.

"Come and get me, I dare you to try and take the other one."

This was bad. Her left eye was out of action completely. It would be that much harder to fight now when she predominantly fought with her left side facing her opponent but she wasn't out of the battle yet. A few self-reassuring mutterings and the heiress was prepared to continue.

However even with the ice field in play the Grimm was still a very agile, swift, and deadly opponent. In the ensuing clashes she'd tried everything she could think of against it. Freezing its claws and legs only to miss or have the ice picked away before she could react, paralyzing Spark Dust bolts that went wild or hit its bone scythes to no effect, gouts and lashes of Flame Dust that while burning her target did little more than agitate it or cause some pain.. Melee wasn't much of a fair option as it had started to prove superior in that regard.

After what felt like a half hour of combat and what was probably for the fifth time that night Weiss was sent flying by a broadside smack of its foreclaws, hitting the ground and rolling to her feet before she'd even stopped. She was starting to feel the consequences of her exertion now and her Aura was starting to hit below half. Her rigorous training had definitely caused a significant improvement but it was starting to look like it just wouldn't be enough.

There was also _that_ but she'd somehow never been able to get it to work.. No matter how hard she tried her Semblance just would not result in a summon. There was no time like the present for a few final tries though right? With a flick of her rapier Weiss started, creating a spiked dome of ice around herself and the icy blue glyph to keep the Grimm out. Not that she was confident it'd really hold up to a sustained attack if it committed to one.

But her efforts were fruitless. No matter how much she poured into the effort it resulted in nothing but a rapidly spinning Glyph and wasted energy. Gritting her teeth Weiss glared down at the now motionless seal after it stopped moving from her previous attempt. "Answer me.. Why don't you come?"

..There was no answer save for the sounds of hissing and scratching, plinking as her opponent started picking at the ice shell. The Glyph faded and with a growl Weiss took a stance, ready to give this Creature of Grimm literal Hell before she went out. There were so many things she had wanted to say, wanted to do. Visions of the brunette Huntress she had been proud now to call her partner and leader flashed through her mind as Myrtenaster also began to flash, glowing with runes and different colors of Dust. Funny that the last thoughts of her final moments would be of her. Why..?

As soon as the ice cracked on her side the heiress braced herself, tensing every muscle in her body before creating an Acceleration Glyph or two to give her some extra power. Then once it shattered, she charged.

Only to meet thin air as sparks, embers, and flakes spun by a small tunnel of air spiraled around her rapier's blade, the powerful attack unable to release without a target. Confusion was written across her face to be replaced by a scream of agony as something pierced her back and bound around her body and limbs. The scythe whips, and a foreleg with the three talons digging into her body spattering blood to stain the ice below. It was practically pulling her onto them before ripping them back out and flinging her across the clearing. This time she didn't simply roll back to her feet but barely managed to get to one leg and a knee, weapon stabbed into the ground as a prop.

It was over. It was too much. She was disabled and injured, low on Dust and weakened as well whereas the Grimm seemed to have been hardly exerting itself. The ice was also starting to melt despite the chill in the air of the night, having been weakened by her Fire Dust attacks in many spots and from constant abuse by the battling combatants. It hadn't been made to be very thick in the first place anyway.

She tried to refute it but it was painfully obvious now. She couldn't win. This was her at her best, in her prime, and she still couldn't slay the Creature of Grimm. Granted Weiss had performed marvelously and drastically exceeded her previous performances but in the end.. Again she thought of Ruby. Of herself and her failures, her foolishness and ignorance. She should have contacted someone. Anyone. Winter had been in the right. There was no sense in doing this alone. Now her leader, no.. Not even partner. Her _friend_ was going to die before she'd really even lived and she had nobody to blame but herself. Stupid..

The Mantis was very clearly enjoying the taste of all the negativity and despair surrounding the heiress, ceasing its attack to scuttle around her with its foreclaws crossed and releasing low hisses. It started to approach after a minute or so of this behavior, raising a claw and readying to strike as all Weiss could do was look up and glare. A dark glare that hid the fear she was feeling of a cornered mouse against a cat. Then it jerked upwards in a motion readying to drop.

At that moment time seemed to slow to a stop, her surroundings simply fading away like a misty dream before complete darkness enveloped her in their place.

A few brief moments went by with nothing happening until someone's voice called to her. This left Weiss very confused as it almost sounded like her own.. Turning around to look where it had come from the sight before her gave her quite a start.

A mirror.. A tall elliptical mirror with a frame made of ice seemingly floating a few inches from the ground. It was then she realized that it wasn't dark, the space was simply empty and devoid. She could feel the hard ground but not see it. She could see herself and all the injuries however, all the pain from before thankfully gone.

The heiress went from confused to bewildered as she got up and paced towards the mirror, extending a hand to plant just her fingertips on it. Her reflection.. Didn't follow suit. Instead it was staring back at her with disdain, arms crossed and lips pursed.

"What.. Where am I..? Are you.. Me?" Weiss asked herself? figuring that it must be something more than a simple reflection. As she spoke the other Weiss shook her head and pointed at her. The real one. This was starting to confuse her in more ways than one.

"Where we are is obvious and of course I am. That's also obvious but those details are unimportant. What matters is who are you?" 'Weiss2' as she mentally named would ask, narrowing her gaze.

"I.. I'm Weiss Schnee." She wasn't sure why she answered or why she was asked in the first place..

"And what are you doing?"

"Apparently talking to myself." She replied almost under her breath, jumping slightly as Weiss2 made a buzzer sound with her voice and exclaimed 'wrong!'. "You're giving up."

Now it was obvious to the Schnee. This was all in her mind. The real her was probably still kneeling in shock awaiting a deathblow from the Mantis. As for the reflection.. That had to be some sort of separate conscience or something. Angrily she snapped back that she was doing no such thing before Weiss2 interrupted, snapping back just the same that she wouldn't be here if she was.

"What happened to all of that pride and brazen gusto you had? What happened to saving Ruby? Are you just going to give up like this?" "No! I'm not-" "Ah but you are. Instead of getting back up on your feet you were about to sit there and die, like a dog."

That got on her nerves and with a growl the real Weiss turned away from herself, clenching her fists. "I am _not_ giving up. I can't.. But.. I can't do it either.. That thing is just too strong. I've tried everything even my Semblance. There's just no logical way to-" "Oh screw logic already you imbecile."

She whirled on her reflection, gritting her teeth. She was getting a taste of her own medicine and it was indeed quite bitter. "You threw logic out of the window when you not once, not twice, but THREE times refused to take good advice and instead ignored it to charge on blindly. I'm ashamed to put it simply, you're supposed to be the smart one. What happened to all the training father put you through? Are you really going to shame the family name like this? For all your talk of becoming a perfect Huntress you're making some amateur mistakes-" Weiss2 was cut off when a fist came flying through the mirror, shattering it completely and far too easily as the entire construct crumbled into snow dust/ice fragments and disappeared.

An exasperated and agitated Weiss was breathing rather hard, having thrown as much force behind that as possible before straightening her posture and throwing her ponytail back over her shoulder. That hadn't hurt her hand nearly as much as she thought it would.

"Feel better now?" Her voice called again. The Huntress spun, only to find the exact same thing she just destroyed floating behind her. Weiss2 had a neutral expression, her arms crossed and foot tapping as she awaited a response. Eventually she nodded, locking agitated eyes with herself.

"Good. Now. You realize the danger you're- We both are in right now, correct?" Another nod. "But you can't just surrender. No matter what you have to keep fighting, you have to keep moving forward. Giving up and saying it's impossible is the same as running away. It's not over yet." The reflection said, staring the real Weiss dead in the face as she spoke. Then she moved on, taking note of the Myrtenaster that was on both their hips.

"You say you can't use your Semblance but that's not entirely true. You summoned it once." "That was partially and possibly a stroke of luck-" The real Weiss started to state. "But you did it."

"I don't even remember how.." The heiress said, massaging her temples and wracking her brain. How HAD she managed to pull off a summon..? It was only the arm and sword but still. It had split her opponent, the advanced warmech in half with ease. If she could draw upon its full power..

"It's not a lack of skill or power, but your will." Another voice rang out. This one wasn't Weiss but rather..

"Will." Weiss looked up to see the face of Winter now in the mirror. Not the real Winter obviously but it sounded and looked so like her..

"Think back to what I told you. What Jaune told you as well." The woman asked, causing her to try and think back to the events of her second recovery when she had woken up to see the two near her bedside. The circumstances surrounding the engagement and result against the Mantis, and the discussion of knights and their roles.. Honorable figures that protected the people and slayed vicious monsters like Grimm. They fought for king and Kingdom, for the people.

"Think back to that moment when you first summoned it. Why do you think it answered your call when it wouldn't before? The Giant Armor Knight.. What purpose does it serve?"

"It serves to fight my enemies-" *pop* "Ow!" "Buffoon!" The reflection had actually reached out of the mirror to slap her in the head, except- The mirror and ice frame was gone now she suddenly realized as she looked back up. Her 'sister' was standing before her just as Weiss2 had been previously. Crossed arms, disapproving look, pursed lips.. Another lesson was in order it seemed.

"Knights are not zealous warriors for killing and fighting, though the Crusaders are a different story we're not going to digress on that topic. Please reflect on our words again, and think a little more on that moment. What purpose did you intend to strike with?"

When she had summoned the arm and sword.. Truth be told, it wasn't her primary focus, destroying the warmech. Yes it was a major concern but the biggest one was- "Protecting Velvet." "Precisely." The heiress placed her hand over her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was so obvious in hindsight..

That must have been the key reason Weiss suddenly seemed to realize. Her summon was not a destroyer. While Schnees could use their summons for battle and primarily consisted of Grimm, this one was a bit of a special case. The Giant Armor Knight was, at the core.. A knight. Granted it was a possessed armor and a Grimm but still technically it was a knight, just like the figures of old.

"You've been so concerned with pride and trying to kill this monster you forgot what's truly important. You've been so focused on mending your damaged ego-" "Hold on now-" "-that you put my life second to yours."

Her eyes flew open and her hands fell to her side as a third voice overtook Winter's, shifting to that of one she'd been wanting to hear for the longest time. Ruby Rose, whole and hale and completely uninjured. If it weren't for knowing better the Huntress would've broken down into tears and embraced her but it was still nice to see her alive and in good condition, if only a falsity.

"No, I-" "You went off against all odds when you could have just called someone for help! Winter even tried to help you, Yang tried to help you, and you turned them all down!" Her words stung more than any injury and despite it not being the real Ruby it still hurt.

"You're not perfect, and you're not a one-woman army! You can ask us to help you because we're a team. And Winter is your family.. If you can't rely on us.. I know you're scared too because you don't want anyone else to get hurt Weiss but this is what we all signed up for! To put our lives on the line for others. To slay the Grimm. Together. If I was truly the most important thing then you would have done everything you could, instead of trying to shoulder this all on your own.." She stated with sadness in her eyes, voice trembling. It was crushing and at this point it didn't matter whether or not she was real, Weiss had to look away for a brief moment before she could face her again.

"You can rely on others. Forget what your dad's tried to put on your shoulders. Forget this image you've had of being some perfect Huntress. I know it'll be tough but you have to accept nobody is perfect. Yet when we work together we can cover each other's flaws and weaknesses. I mean.. You're smart and I'm a quick thinker. You're overly cautious and I'm not sometimes. ..A lot of times actually." 'Ruby' said with a small sheepish smile. "That's what Winter was trying to tell you. Don't be afraid or ashamed. We all should be prepared for stuff like this, and we've got to work together to get past it."

She pondered her words for a good minute or two before closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. "..I feel like Ebenezer Scrooge.. But I get it now, what you're trying to tell me. Knights are protectors. Defenders. I should be using- asking it to be my shield, not my sword. That's part of relying on someone else right? I.. I need to do like you said? I should be able to admit I need help and ask for it?" "Yes! You got it ooh I'm so proud of me! You. We know what we mean." 'Ruby', who was back to being 'Weiss' would say as she stumbled over her words and just generally started to confuse the real one.

"Now get back in there, and show that monster just what you can do." Weiss2 said with an encouraging and confident smirk on her face. She got one in return before it became a puzzled look.

"Wait! How- I've never been able to do it before, what makes you think- ..No. I need to believe. I'm going to win this. I _have to._ Not for myself but for Ruby.. If I don't win here it's all over.. But I'm not going in alone right? I don't care if it breaks every bone in my body. It's not over until I'm dead, but I'm not going to be the one to fall here." Her reflection smiled and nodded, starting to disperse and fly away like snowflakes in the wind as the darkness started to become true shadow and blacken her vision.

"There's that confidence again.. It's good though. Negativity just feeds those horrid things. Believe in yourself, me. If you can't then just believe in the me that believes in you!" "..Isn't that the same thing though? I mean you ARE me and- Ugh, headache.." "Dunce."

The two Schnees smiled, right before the shadow consumed everything and faded back to reality.

...

With a start the heiress' eyes opened wide, one of course still heavily damaged. That's when the pain returned and she felt _everything_ again. It had been nice back in her mind but one couldn't and shouldn't escape reality. It was harsh sometimes but that was life. Tensing her body a surge of Aura signalled her return to the conscious world as the Mantis' claw jerked upwards for the final strike again.

"I may fall, but not like this.. Come on..! Lend me your power. Please.." Weiss said through grit teeth as Myrtenaster was yanked from the ground and leveled at the Mantis. Rather than killing it, her mind was full of other thoughts. Thoughts of Ruby, thoughts of Yang, and Blake and Winter and even Jaune. Her other friends and fellow Hunters. After all if she fell here they'd be incredibly sad wouldn't they? This wasn't about her. This was about them, for them. She had to survive. All her thoughts of taking it down were for that sole purpose, and for saving Ruby's life. The girl she cared for very deeply Weiss came to realize.

"And I'll lend you mine." She said with a whisper.

Then time slowed. Not to a sto, no, it was as if the world were moving slowly. The moonlight gleamed off of the deadly scythe as it reached the apex of its draw, starting to come down for her neck. Light instead of darkness would however begin to fill the area as an ice blue Glyph formed above and slightly in front of Weiss, a shining blade lashing out to catch it in a shower of sparks. That's when she saw it. The cold and frozen armor of the Giant Armor Knight's arm, holding its longsword in hand. The Grimm's eyes widened upon seeing this and immediately started to draw back.

 _"Thank you.."_ She sent silent gratitude to her guardian, struggling to stand once more. With this she was confident now she could likely take on the Creature of Grimm. It was a small but strong presence Weiss thought as she retook her stance, ready to strike along with her summon's blade. Red covered the rapier as she prepared to parry the incoming second claw, only to witness in awe as a second armored arm flew from the now wider Glyph to grab it by the end. Both..?

No. Not just that.. With a blast of chilling air and two heavy footfalls something emerged from the now humongous Glyph, radiating light from both it and the being that emerged. Once the Glyph faded the light did as well, revealing a towering armored form as it began to push the Mantis back.

The Giant Armor Knight in all of its glory had answered her call, and brought with it a powerful presence and a cold air that gave her chills just from being nearby.

* * *

 _Woooo! Big damn hero to the rescue! Coming in from the third corner, the Giant Armor Knight! Armed with a BFS made of cold steel and fury. ...I know it's technically just 'Giant Armor' but I get a knight-y vibe from it, and I mean.. Just look at the thing. Don't tell me that's a farfetched idea._

 _So like.. Turns out we had some changes in the break schedule today at work and I had more time on my hands than I thought so I figured why not? However in exchange this ended up being longer than I thought and I'm not stretching it to the 8k or so words it would be if I went all the way to the end of the fight with it. Next chapter will be kickass though as we see why this metal monster's appearance might be what completely flips the tables. With that in mind.._

 _Inspectre Offline!_

 _P.S. Oh right there was also some character development in there too. In case you were confused that's kinda why the story's called The Royal Test and I'd say she passed with flying freakin' colors. Still has to get past the final hurdle though!_

 _P.S.S. I totally forgot but for those that didn't get it the chapter 4 title reference is to the N64 game Sin and Punishment._


	7. Flying Colors

_Inspectre Online!_

 _I wanted to start writing this like right after I posted the last chapter but after we got off work it was like two in the morning (it happens when you work for a traveling carnival) so I pretty much wrapped up the entrance for the Giant Armor Knight and did the post story A/N then went straight to bed. However we've yet to start moving loads as of writing this A/N so I figure why not tidy up the truck and do some writing? And listen to a lot of Waterflame/Chainsaw_09 for muse-ical inspiration. Before we get to the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny let's answer some fan mail._

 _At Cloy552: The sad thing is I haven't even (yet) watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, it's just one of those things on the internet where some bits are so viral you know enough about it anyway to make references. Like Doctor Who and MLP. That said it's on my To-Watch/Read (sometimes I go for manga version, sometimes for anime version) list though. Looks pretty awesome. Glad you liked my combat scene writing~ Yeah the transformation thing was decided on so Weiss could show she's improved, though not enough. As for the speaking I share the sentiments. I think there are Grimm species or classes (once they've lived long enough) that could speak and show human levels of intelligence. After all they've already been stated to show things like caution and patience instead of charging right at humanity's walls like Titans from Attack on Titan._

 _At Lego Lass Dragon Ranger: Now that I think about it I shouldn't have called it a cliffhanger but instead a teaser/preview. Yeah Weiss can squash the big bad bug! ..By making her new BFF do it. She's not really in the shape to be doing any quashing but she's not out yet.. I don't think the knight thing is Farfetch'd at all either but I won't throw a Tyrantrum (what do you mean that's not a word why aren't Pokemon in the dictionary) if someone disagrees._

 _At Nekonyaneko: Anybody wanna try saying this name five times fast? I keed I keed. Yep! Battle epiphany! No montage though, even if Rocky had one. Yeah the transformation in this case wasn't really a 'save the day/turn the tables' evolution but more of a 'oh wow you got better time for me to get serious' thing. Then Boom. Powerup. I know what you mean though. *thinks back to one episode in the original series where his Krabby evolved into Kingler during the League matches*_

 _Aaaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then! You know what you came for, I know what you came for, so I present to you.. The final fight! Anybody who is prone to epilepsy or sudden seizures brought on respectively by flares of Dust/rising levels of awesome should like take their meds or leave now 'cause there's about to be a throwdown. ..Quite literally._

* * *

Weiss was starstruck. She had only expected to summon the Giant Armor Knight's arm and sword again. Just that would have given her a major advantage but this.. It was no less than fifteen feet tall, above the monstrous insect by perhaps no more than two or three feet and a very imposing figure.

The large Grimm was surrounded by frigid air and seeping a white mist in contrast to the dark vapors rising from the Mantis, radiating a pale blue light from its armor. What looked like snowflakes were drifting away from the surface and with every step the icy ground underneath its sabatons reformed and thickened. It was a split second afterwards that the summoner dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for what ragged hard breaths she could take as if the wind had been completely taken out of her. While Semblances didn't require Aura or Dust by default they still taxed the energy and body of the user and this one had drained a very large amount of what spirit she had left. Though it didn't seem to be for naught..

It was actually forcing its opponent away with sheer strength, one gauntlet grasping its left claw and the longsword grinding against the other. In a burst of sparks the opposing Grimm drew back and went to slash, only for the Giant Armor Knight to spin its blade into a reverse grip and brace it against its arm to deflect the attack before quickly driving the point of its weapon into the ground. Then it let go to take a hold of the claw before it could be withdrawn again.

Weiss watched still transfixed as with one fluid motion her guardian summon performed an over the shoulder toss and slammed the Mantis onto the ice with enough power to crack it for several feet of the spot it landed. Then it reached up with both hands and raised them all the way back behind its head, fingers intertwined and locked for a hammer blow onto the exposed and vulnerable underbelly of its armored thorax. The result was a crushing attack that shattered the frozen floor for almost ten yards and sent tremors through the area. Though it was powerful the Mantis immediately went to scissor slice its head from below, barely missing as its target wisely somersaulted backwards and ripped its sword from the ground to take a stance like a certain blue haired Crimean mercenary.

A thin plate of frost had even formed on the spot where the Giant Armor Knight had struck, seeping black blood through the cracks and onto the ice below as the other Grimm hissed at it and skittered left and right. That was one problem out of the way though the heiress couldn't understand what or why until she looked at the thorax again. The wings were done in, ruined by the force that had rocked its entire body though the organs inside if it had any were relatively fine it seemed. The monster looked just a little bit absolutely livid but that was about it.

With a louder screech the Mantis then reared back, zipping forward to slice and dice at the tundran knight. Relatively quickly it was established that the former was superior in terms of speed and reaction as its foreclaws tore across the armor before the latter could even raise their guard. They were only light scratches but that didn't mean it wasn't feeling the effect on its power. That was when Weiss remembered she wasn't meant to lean on it as a crutch. No. She may be down but she was not out.

"Let's see if we can't fix that.." The Huntress finally spoke, flicking Myrtenaster as a white/gold beam shot towards the back of her barely wavering summon. A very familiar Glyph formed underneath it in the form of a clock face that rapidly began to spin adding another glow to the already radiant knight, enhancing its speed and reaction as well to put it hopefully on or at least near its opponent's.

She would swear to this day she heard it emit devilish and low chuckling before stomping its foot down, jerking forward to headbutt the Mantis through an attempted decapitation and buckle its legs before knee smashing it up. Then with a straight door-smashing kick courtesy of the same leg sent it flying backwards into a tree. Wood splinters and cracked chips came off both on its back and onto the ground as it shook its head, dazed by the impact.

"We can do this.. Hold on, I'm- Ow. Not going to sit here and let you do all the work." Weiss exclaimed as she tried to push herself up with Myrtenaster only for the rapier to slide a bit further into the ground. In a gust of cold air and a few loud steps the Giant Armor Knight was at her side, kneeling and extending a hand. Graciously she took it and rose to her feet, staggering a bit before she felt something incredibly icy on her back and eventually through her entire body. It had somehow sealed her wounds and frozen them shut to stop the bleeding. Crude but undeniably effective as it nulled the pain as well. Inexplicably the freezing sensation faded momentarily and with a smirk she sent her rapier Dust chamber spinning.

Following a ferocious hiss the Mantis was after them, actually going airborne and coming down with both claws overhead before the knight swung its blade over and across its shoulders to block the tips and push backwards. With a hard, violent backhand slice it stood and spun, the other Grimm ducking the attack and crawling back away. Rightfully so for that attack whistled through the air and created a crescent gash in the ground where it had been standing from sheer air pressure alone.

The Mantis didn't seem to care that its wings were broken for it drew them out anyway, preparing for another deadly execution attack. Thinking back on how Semblances could be enhanced with Dust as Weiss'd given Blake a cartridge of it to enhance her Shadow back on the underground railroad.. It was worth a shot. Things like her Glyphs, even if enhanced by Dust were one thing but directly imbuing the summon..? Only one way to find out she thought as she swung her rapier and fired off a red flare of Fire Dust.

It seemed to have the desired effect as red sigils appeared on its longsword accompanied by a crimson glow, understanding on a practically empathic level as it held it with both hands and at an angle straight at the Mantis. The black insect was still a blur to Weiss but to the Grimm?

A loud screech as bone met steel. A storm of sparks as scythe met sword. A shower of black and red gaseous blood as the latter slid across the former and repulsed it, making an opening for the runed blade to tear across its chest. With a hideous shrill screech the Mantis staggered and then reared back to stab at the Giant Armor Knight with its forelegs, knocking it off balance and returning the favor with a series of lightning fast attacks that chipped and chinked the chest of the armored Grimm leaving a multitude of severe gouges and missing pieces. What looked like cold air was flowing from the injuries as it fell with the Mantis pursuing.

Weiss let out a loud 'NO!' as her guardian was pinned, longsword clattering across the ground as those forelegs pierced its hands and basically nailed them to the ground so it couldn't defend itself from the ensuing picking and stabbing claw attacks. She had been watching the whole time, hardly able to do more than send a boost to it and silently cheer it on. As the knight jerked with every impalement she grit her teeth and looked down at Myrtenaster, the Dust chambers starting to spin as she prepared to intervene.

Flame. Ice. Spark. Wind. The four basic elements began to consume the Multi Action Dust Rapier as she started to load it with everything she had. This might be the last attack she could get in so she had to make it count.. It was shaking from the insane amount of energy coursing through and around it now as Weiss gripped it tightly, leaning forward and bolting towards the dueling Grimm. The one underneath was quick to draw in its legs, pushing up and slightly kneeing the Mantis in its injured underbelly. This lead to a physiological reaction as pain forced it upwards and gave enough room for it to then lash out with a double kick and rear it back on its hind legs.

The heiress was right at the mark to take advantage of it, stabbing forward with Myrtenaster and finger on the trigger but her target hopped backwards and gave a warning swing of its foreclaws to deter her. Luckily she hadn't fired her supercharged attack yet but the energy was rapidly escalating and she was starting to lose control of the elemental vortex. Her summon realized this and quickly got her attention, making short 'come here' motions with one of its now free hands. The two had a mutual understanding and the Huntress stepped on, bracing herself as she was flung into the sky. It was no or never. The Giant Armor Knight's power was fading fast and Weiss was at her absolute limit..

Looking up, the insect Creature of Grimm would see a familiar sight. Familiar for the Heiress anyway and yet not as she twisted and drew back her rapier midflight then looked down at her target. Visions of the past flashed before her eyes, back to similar positions some almost recognizable faces had been in before but as colored silhouettes.

Red like roses, silver eyes as if she were dreaming and floating among petals in the moonlight as she looked down upon a snowy field of Beowulf pups..

White, expression narrowed in wistful yearning above the silver knight in an empty hall as a bright light enveloped her blade and spectators watched from a distance..

Black the beast, angrily descending through a twisting black ribbon of shadows as she gazed down upon a four legged war machine..

Yellow beauty, a burning gold with her armored fist back and a grin on her face as she rose over a brilliantly colored dance floor and prepared to drop..

And finally, the heiress herself, a brilliant display of lights as she reached the peak before pulling Myrtenaster up and grasping it with both hands, bending her legs as a white Glyph formed right behind her. It worked against the Giant Nevermore so..

White, then black, then red. She was launched right back down as the Glyph warped a little from the force, sending down a spiraling meteor of elemental Dust with multicolored streamers as the Mantis crossed its foreclaws. Even the speedy assassin Grimm couldn't move away in time. With a loud and high pitched whistling Weiss dropped and landed, a shockwave of that 'meteor's' energy going out in a ring as Myrtenaster speared through both claws and sent cracks throughout the lengths. The air was whipping up like a hurricane as roaring flames, crackling bolts, and crunching ice all went off with a single pulse as she pulled the trigger.

If it weren't for the sudden ice shield that moved her backwards and filled the space between her and the embedded weapon the resulting elemental nova would have likely killed her. Instead it'd throw her back and send her crashing to the ground sliding to a stop several dozen feet away. When she looked back up it was to the heart-wrenching sight of a destroyed Myrtenaster. The blade had completely disintegrated, Dust chamber blown wide open like a shot soda can and the leftover chunk of rapier flying through the air to land on the ground with a few clacks.

But it was also to the incredibly satisfying sight of the severely injured Mantis, its bone scythes having been annihilated down to the stumps by the ultimate attack. It flailed and staggered back as its entire front was marked by flaming patches of black flesh, frozen patches, and electrical burns as well as a legion of incisions from the incredibly potent if haphazard combination of Dusts. The Giant Armor Knight had already jumped up and made a mad dash for its longsword before snatching it up and turning towards the now fleeing Creature of Grimm. It was actually running scared, self preservation overtaking the desire to kill. However due to the damage to its head it couldn't see clearly and was running blind.

Though stars spun in her vision and darkness was creeping on the edges Weiss' eyes met her guardian's visor and she'd nod as they had another mutual understanding. There was no way she could still fight but she didn't have to. There was someone she could rely on for that.. Retrieving a single vial of bright blue Ice Dust she popped the top and held it out, the substance disappearing as it transferred to the summon. A flash and a blinding cyan light surrounded the blade as it held it out to the side. Extremely cold wind blew around it too as the edges were encased with ice. Then with a mighty heave the wielder threw it into the air.

The spinning blade eclipsed the moon as it soared and spun directly overhead, casting a shadow over the monstrous insect. A tremendous leap boosted by a Glyph sent the Giant Armor Knight after it before grasping it in both hands. Dropping like a bomb it then performed several frontflips, crashing down to Remnant and driving the longsword right down the middle of the Grimm and into the ground. The impact of its armored body alone completely shattered the thin ice floor that had covered most of the surrounding area but the sub-zero attack sent a very long split forward from the point, a huge field of ice spikes expanding past. The earth was sundered, riddled, and trees smashed apart while freezing winds whirled all around for several seconds.

The Mantis took a few more stepsas they calmed, slowly but surely before a split formed between the left and right sides of its body. Ice then covered the surfaces between before spreading all throughout and eventually resulting in the halves becoming encased in ice. Then they exploded into snow dust and ice fragments.

 _"Impressive.."_ Came a low hissing voice as a few wisps of shadow flew from within the now busted sculpture. It was over. It was finally over. It was dead and she had won.

Relief washed over her along with a cold chill as what little energy Weiss had left simply vanished, collapsing onto the cold ground facefirst. Oh gods she had never felt so tired before.. The Huntress literally couldn't even move. Her summon turned to look towards its summoner before bowing on one knee, sword placing point first into the ground with one arm across its chest in fealty. This action caused Weiss to beam, almost letting tears spill from her eyes. Ruby was probably healing as they.. Weren't really speaking. They didn't need to. 'I will lend you my power.' 'And I to you.' That's what their looks expressed.

The Giant Armor Knight faded away into nothingness, her breathing steady. It was really cold out and the ripped and torn Snow Pea uniform wasn't covering too much anymore. She was also starting to feel a bit of the pain in her wounds and was slowly losing consciousness. Where was that medical bag..? Weiss was so weak she couldn't even reach for her Scroll. How tragic, she thought to herself. She was possibly going to die achieving her goal. At least she went out with a bang right?

Then she heard the howls. The- Oh no.

Drawn by her negative emissions from earlier and from now especially it seemed another pack of Beowulves was moving in to track them to their source. The heiress couldn't help it. Right now she was scared too. Scared that she could do nothing but await death at their claws, to be finished off like a tired and weakened animal. No matter how much she willed it to her body would neither move or respond save for simply rolling onto her back.. Her Semblance wouldn't even work.

They were getting close now. Very close. She could hear their footsteps, their low growls and claws smacking small pieces of ice around leftover from the battle. Then to her surprise she also heard the engine of a Bullhead. It couldn't be.. Could it?

It was. Her transport. He'd actually stuck around the station as ordered (bribed) and come to pick her up. Though Weiss hadn't called him there'd be absolutely no complaints. ..Except one. What was a simple pilot going to do against a large pack of Beowulves?

The aircraft stopped almost right above the downed heiress, compartment opening as she craned her neck just barely to see. Whoever was inside was wearing an advanced black and orange g-suit, a flight suit modified for pilots whose positions left them susceptible to the dangers of constant or rapid g-forces. The face was hidden thanks to the pilot's helmet and orange facemask. ..A lot of orange and mostly black constituted his uniform it seemed. He also appeared to have some weapons and equipment on his belt, and some sort of mechanical box over a sheathed and retracted straight sabre on his back. The pilots gloves bore not one but two Hunter Symbols, the left of a jack-o-lantern with crosshairs for eyes and three missiles behind it and the right of a doberman with demonic wings.

A single venturous Beowulf suddenly stepped over the Huntress, blocking the VTOL from sight before growling at her and raising its claws. Just as it was about to strike something metallic bounced from its skull, dazing it for a second. It seemed the Grimm had been largely unaware of the ship's appearance until now. The struck one looked down to the side to see what had hit it. A grappling hook? Connected to a long length of cord..

Which the pilot had tied off before tugging back with it, pulling up and embedding the hooks into the Beowulf's neck. It flailed and snarled to no avail before moments later going limp as the male came flying down on top of it via said cord, slamming it onto the grapple and driving the hooks all the way in as it was crushed between his metal plated steeltoe boots and the cold hard ground.

"Thanks for the catch there bud. You okay little lady?" He asked, crouching over her and waving his hand over her face as if oblivious or uncaring of the surrounding danger. She didn't speak but instead followed the motions with a scowl, looking over to the side as several of the Beowulves who had backed away were now daring to get closer. With a sigh the pilot reached behind him and retrieved his weapon, slinging it out to the side to its full 3.5 to 4 foot length. Upon closer inspection it looked more like a helicopter rotor blade.. Black with orange stripes, base edges curving in to the handle with a perfect half-ring for a handguard. It almost looked like the blade could actually slide along the handguard if shifted that way..

"I'm gonna take care of these puppies real quick and we'll be on our way alright?" That said he'd open the pommel, loading a vial of Dust into the handle itself before shutting it. The blade then started to crackle with electricity as the closest Beowulf charged. He didn't even use the sabre as with a snap of his fingers there was a very loud and very high pitched ping of sound around its head, enough to burst its eardrums and cause its ears to bleed. With a yelp and whine it fell over before a quick flick of the weapon silenced it and put it out of its misery.

"It's showtime."

Weiss laid there, hearing the sounds of fighting. Not that she could do much else. The mysterious stranger was no mere pilot that much was evident. He swung his sabre with as much finesse as a professional fencer, splitting Beowulves apart as if they were made of hot butter and moving in a deadly waltz. Electricity traced through the air with his swings and at some point that blade started thrumming like it as vibrating. Some sort of frequency blade..? From what she gathered his Semblance also had something to do with sound waves as he used it to repel their attacks or send them flying.

It took only a minute or so for the pack to be dispatched, blade now sheathed as the man came back to pick Weiss up bridal style. That 'box' on his back turned out to be a compact jetpack, jet-like wings flying out to a span a foot or two longer than his arms and two thrusters coming from the open bottom. Dust powered thrusters so they wouldn't melt away his lower body when they were active.

"Don't worry ma'am, you're goin' home now."

Those were the last words she heard before exhaustion put her down for the count.

* * *

 _Well THAT was a thing.. Holy crap Giant Armor Knight OP nerf- Wait don't nerf it._

 _Also SURPRISE. Two chapters in a row what. ..I had time today and the muse to keep going. Been working on this literally all day from morning to now. Took a break during the road trip but other than that.._

 _Sorry, had a new OC of mine borrow the spotlight for a moment. Help test him for roleplay and whatnot. Originally he was just going to be a nameless character but he grew on me. Won't have any significance in this story aside though, maybe another work.._

 _Also, dat summon. Again. Apparently it took swordfighting lessons from Ike Greil. I made two references but one might go over some peoples' heads so I'll say it was his Aether move. That might help. Though it can also kick ass unarmed, something the original GAK wasn't very good at. It's not an unstoppable monster though as the Mantis was quick to point out but it's the combination of summoner and summon that makes them deadly. Even if she's not used to calling it and takes a great deal of energy to do so._

 _As for the flashback sequence.. I dunno. Just a random idea in my head. I felt like writing it out._

 _Anyway, this marks the end of the aeon of strife! Next chapter will be some sweet White Rose and a funny epilogue worked into the end. After that.. I'm not certain what I'll do yet. But I definitely plan to and likely will have that last chapter done either tomorrow or Wednesday._


	8. Bloom

_Inspectre Online._

 _Aaaaaalrighty! Who's ready for some long awaited White Rose fluffiness? I mean it's only been a tease in the character listings for so many chapters now. But before that hold thy horses! We got some fan mail to answer._

 _..Not a whole lot though 'cause I'm not famous. Not yet! Possibly never but who knows. Baby steps first though. Baby steps. Mostly in the form of oneshots and miniseries like these. ..To be honest the idea of a AU or going on my planned long term cross-AUs is still daunting. I know they'll probably end up being 20+ chapter novels most likely, and something I'd have to sit down and plot out and write notes on for a couple days before I start so I don't end up running into a writer's block or veering off in an unintended direction. Long as I have a general idea of where I want to go I can take it and run with it. Case in point I got last chapter and the chapter before that done in two days. I plan on updating frequently when I'm not either A. Burdened by work (some places I can work weekends from like 10 AM to almost midnight). B. Into a new game (when Monster Hunter X comes out and I start making money to buy more 3DS games, and a PS Vita so I get get all the animesque stuff like BlazBlue that's not on 3DS, yeah, I might disappear for a bit). Or C. Off writing something else like RP characters/taking time off to read manga/other random distractions._

 _Hey funny thing, it was all of the above. Transferred positions, working on a merry go round now whooo! And in my free time I was downloading some emulators. Didn't know they had them on android.. Turns out all my save data for GBA and DS was compatible from the PC emulators I was using so yay! And downloading the PSP games I liked, hoo boy._

 _Sidenote, get your asses in gear game companies! Y'all need to localize more.. Still waiting for Endless Frontier: Exceed for one. Also I like, NEED Advance Wars 3DS.. I got around to playing some good old Black Hole Rising, finally beat Pivot Isle (Eagle is a pain in the ASS to fight, but Grit is just as OP so heh) and not looking forward to some of these War Room maps.._

 _At Cloy552: Because Fire Emblem is friggin' awesome._

 _At LegolasDragonRanger: Only because I roleplayed him before. As for Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose.. Rip in pieces sadfaise. Or are they?_

 _At KallenVIBrittania: It does. Also Code Geass FTW._

 _Anywayx2, in the immortal words of the great Leonard Church.._

 _"Let's get this goddam show on the road!"_

 _P.S. Like a week later.. So sorry this took so long! Time got away from me but here it is!_

* * *

This time the heiress could actually enjoy the humor of the situation. She'd rarely ever needed to go to a hospital. Now in the span of a month if that she'd been there a grand total of three times. Three too many in her mind. At least this time it wasn't to pain or disorientation but she was still feeling incredibly drained..

Resting a little bit longer Weiss finally managed to gather enough strength to lean up and look around. ..Which took a bit more effort than it should have as she realized she only had half of her normal field of view and a loss of binocular depth perception. Still..? Presumably they hadn't been able to repair the damage done. All thanks to the damnable Mantis after it transformed and cut into her left eye during the battle. From what the heiress could feel (or rather not feel) it must have been removed and there was a medical eye patch over it now. First a scar, now the entire thing was gone. How ironic it was that the Giant Armor Knight that gave her that scar would be the one that slew the other Grimm that finished the job. Oh this was going to take some getting used to..

Glancing over at the dresser next to her she noticed there were some flowers and a get-well card. Judging by the writing it was from.. Yang? Curiously she leaned over and picked it up before opening it, eyes darting left and right over the message. Seems her teammate had been rather upset about something as it was covered it what looked like wet marks from fallen tears. Though come to find they were from tears of joy. And after reading the contents was about to ready to shed some of her own.

Ruby had made an almost full recovery during the two days she was- Wait. Two days?! A brief peek at the other side where Blake had put something as well she'd find out that apparently this was in fact, judging by the current date after a sidelong look at the digital clock on the wall, actually three days after. Today might have been the third anyway. It had probably been delivered sometime yesterday for whenever she might wake up.

According to her doctor the little brunette's afflictions had started reversing and clearing up as if by magic, something they found out about courtesy of Taiyang. That had been an emotional and distressing sit-down at first, especially for Yang. Though there were some residual effects they wouldn't be permanent and she'd have no long term impairments or signs. She'd even woken up a few times but was on doctor's orders to stay in bed until she was fully clean.

Weiss fell back on her pillows, arm over her face as the card slipped to the floor. What a relief.. A massive burden had been eased off of her chest and with a broad smile she simply lay there. That was a recurring thought. She's safe. She's going to be okay. It's all over. Other recurring thoughts were of the 'encounter' within her mind and the conversations with Winter and Jaune. Surprising to hear any kind of words of wisdom from that goofball but they'd been invaluable.

She spent what felt like several hours simply.. Reflecting. Looking back, she really had been extremely foolish. What she should have done was wait to fully recover then either talk to someone like Ozpin or Winter or at least ask her team for help. Instead she had charged off like a defiant child. But all of that was behind her now. This was an ordeal and she'd learned from it. For the better and not for the worst thank the gods.

Eventually her doctor would arrive to check on her and the second the door was closed Weiss was back up and mouth open ready to say something when he smiled and held up his clipboard. "Ms. Rose is fine. She's just about healed, only needs some rest." It was as if he'd already known what she was going to ask. To be fair it had been expected since the first time the heiress had arrived into his care as soon as she was conscious that had been the first thing she wanted to know about. Even moreso than the status of her own condition.

"I see.." Hearing it straight from the source was very reassuring. "When can I see her?" Weiss asked with a hopeful glimmer in her eye only to be shot down as the man informed her that it had been some time since her last awakening and that right now she was under a strict watch to ensure she got plenty of undisturbed peace and quiet. Though it was raised a little as he also informed her that this time she would honestly be notified of the change when it occurred.

Which Weiss suddenly remembered something.. They had hid the truth about Ruby's deteriorating health from her in the first place and recalling that eliciting an ire filled glare directed at the doctor. It sent a shiver down his spine but not for long. After all the important thing was that she was going to make it, so the glare faded away to a soft smile after a few moments. "Good. Make certain of that." "Y-Yes Ms. Schnee. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go attend to some other matters."

..Another long sigh as the door clicked shut. She'd been so stressed out the past few weeks it wasn't funny but this would be the final time she had to see this damned place, for a long time and possibly forever if she had her way. Then again life had always thrown her a few curveballs every now and then just to pound it in that she wasn't always going to so who knows.. ..Well, there was nothing to do but wait she supposed. Even if she was dying to go check on her partner. The only reason she hadn't already left to go do so, barring being prohibited and exhaustion, was because she knew better that proper rest was vital to recovery. She could wait until then.

And so time passed, another day or so until Weiss was released. Goodwitch was not entirely happy about the piling assignments that she had dismissed or put off but was thankfully understanding of the matter. Those were completed with due haste lest she get an earful from Winter or her father if they found out. Which as it turns out the latter had been kept in the dark thanks to the former covering for her. How she managed that feat was unknown but he had said not a word in reference the one time they talked after she got out of the hospital ward. On the phone of course, he'd likely have a stroke if he saw his daughter's new disability. Her older sister was also too busy for another personal visit but sent heartfelt congratulations and well wishes for her recovery.

As for her teammates.. Not so much. There had been plenty of scolding from the blonde and mostly just passive agreement and acknowledgement from the other brunette. She found it amusing on some level the idea of being lectured on her actions when Yang was prone to just as reckless behavior. Like.. Busting up a dance club simply over a certain 'little bear' having an attitude problem. Not that she said anything out loud about it to prevent what could likely be another fight. After what had seemed like an eternity it finally stopped, ending with the proverbial hatchet being buried since both of the injured Huntresses were home safe and sound. Though Yang tried to make Weiss promise not to ever do anything so insane again which the heiress only responded that there'd be no promises. Just to be cheeky before assuring her that she'd learned some valuable lessons and would try her best. Then they hugged things out. The blonde also of course just _had_ to go ahead and tell her that she'd better 'see that she does'. Honestly, that barbarian had no tact whatsoever. Though to be fair she'd tried quite hard to resist her usual wordplay habit.

With things back to normal it had almost seemed like a dream rudely (but very happily) awakened one day when that same frantic and excited blonde messaged her to let her know that Ruby was finally deemed stable enough for visitors, according to her father. Those around her at the time she got it would have sworn the two temporarily switched Semblances, the alabaster haired heiress a white blur racing for where she was certain she remembered her room was. After all it's not like she spent half her time outside of classes waiting outside along with her other friends and family. Nope.

Taiyang and the doctor were waiting outside and talking when she rounded the corner, sweating bullets and gasping for breath as she placed one arm against the wall. "Hey now little lady, what's the rush?" The blonde male asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. He knew full well what she was here for and wasn't surprised in the slightest but he couldn't help it. With a huff and a glare that just shouted 'really?!' she simply looked back down at the floor for a few moments.

"Go on in." Taiyang finally said with a nod, pushing the door open slightly.

"Huh? Aren't you-" "I've already had my turn and she was asking about you almost nonstop yesterday. She.. She doesn't know anything, except what happened to her and.. Well I didn't want to stress her by telling her the details. I know keeping them from her wasn't exactly helping either but uh.. Go cheer her up alright?"

From what she could see through the partially open doorway Ruby was resting on her side, facing the wall and apparently unaware of Weiss' presence. Just seeing her in person, safe, was almost enough to make her pass out again from relief. It wasn't just worry for her partner. That much was certain and one of the things she'd thought long and hard on during those hours of reflection she'd spent the other day.

"She hasn't woken up since her last nap but I think just being there will put her at ease. They say even if they don't know you're there, they kinda do? I mean, I stayed with her whenever I could during- Oh and Qrow too. Don't ask me how it works but I know the whole time she was fighting.. Kid's a real scrapper. Probably got that from Summer." The man explained, trailing off and not really eager to talk about the Grimmblight case any more now that it was pretty much behind them.

"So.. Go wait. The patient will Schnee you now." Of course it ran in the family. Probably genetic. That got him a backhand pop to the side before she nodded and gently pushed the door open more to slowly slide into the room, pushing it back shut with an almost echoing click. Trying to make as little noise as possible Weiss then slowly walked over to her bedside so she could get a better look.

The sight was enough to make her heart leap. Ruby looked so at ease, her breathing light and soft with each fall and rise of her chest. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed as easily as she could, Weiss reached over to place the back of her hand on her cheek then brush a few stray locks of hair away from her face. Though it was difficult to tell at a distance the scars from her injuries had almost completely faded, remaining as little more than white jagged lines barely visible even up close due to the eery yellow/white pallor of her complexion. That, the doctor assured, was just a cosmetic effect and that there was nothing physically or biologically wrong with her any more.

The heiress lost track of time, content to simply sit there and caress her again with a soft smile. At some point the Huntress realized she actually had been crying tears of joy once they started to drip down onto her dress. Well, combat skirt. That was something they both agreed on funnily enough. That was also just one of the memories that came rushing back as she sat there, yet another reflection on the past. It was a wonder her brain hadn't caught fire with all of the thinking she'd been doing lately.

Their bickering in the Emerald Forest, the time Ruby had exploded her with a miniature storm of Dust. That initial meeting in general.. True they'd gotten off on the wrong foot like Yang said and honestly she had blown it a little out of proportion but at least now she could laugh about it. Then there were things like the occasional walk out with Zwei. The time he'd actually chased and cornered Blake up in a tree had been incredibly amusing to the both of them, reduced to girlish giggling at the scene of the little battle corgi practically trapping a full-grown Huntress like a common housecat. ..Of course when the Cat Faunus got down there was Hell to pay.

Or, when they'd have an extra helping of free time on their hands and honest-to-Monty nothing to do with it, something like.. Baking cookies. It had been an innocent and offhand comment by Weiss since she knew they were a favorite treat of Ruby's. It wasn't surprising but was when her partner readily agreed to it and thus after a bit of help from some friends managed to 'secure' an oven.. Charcoal was made, ingredients strewn or spilled all over the place, smoke detectors (un)wisely disabled in the corner of the room they'd converted into a kitchen. Every other moment she had kept telling herself it was a bad idea but not once did she ever regret it. ..Okay maybe a little but she had fun. When Ruby had smacked her with a handful of flour, the heiress amazingly enough found herself smacking back which surprised them both. Somewhere along the line they'd finally managed to produce a decent batch and with some fine-tuning baked something edible. Good even.

The cleanup took over an hour but it had been worth it. Blake and Yang had been none the wiser but the feline female still swore to this day something had smelled off about the room when she walked in..

Memories like this and more had Weiss starting to think. Before, it had been simply an afterthought. Ruby was cute, if childishly so at times. She'd never looked at her like that before but perhaps these feelings had been developing without her knowing. Perhaps it just took this pushing and shoving for her to realize how deeply she cared for her partner. Yes, it wasn't questionable for a Hunter to put their life at risk or even knowingly into certain danger, but to go above and beyond repeatedly defying Death and facing it without regret or fear for another? That was something beyond camaraderie, this..

She sighed, her eye half shut as she sniffed and wiped it on her sleeve. Was she already tired, had it been that long? She really hadn't done much today but.. Maybe she lost track of time again. Slowly sliding down to the floor Weiss then turned to face Ruby, resting her arms on the bedside and laying her head on top to watch her sleep. It almost felt contagious and it was hardly a minute later the heiress was snoozing away too.

Having been watching the scene from outside, Taiyang carefully pulled the door closed without letting the lock click in case it woke either of them. "I'm not too certain I should be allowing this but.. I suppose there's no harm." The doctor said softly, rubbing the back of his head. After all, it's not like he was the only one in the unit and since both of his charges were together now he might as well just leave them be. Though he'd be nearby just in case..

"They'll be fine, I promise. Just keep an eye out in case my other rambunctious daughter comes around. She'll probably squeeze her back into a coma." ..Which thankfully Yang wasn't even IN Vale at the moment, actually on her way back from another co-op mission with Blake. Otherwise she'd probably be doing just that. With a chuckle Taiyang then crossed his arms behind his head, giving one look back at the room before disappearing down the hallway.

...

 ***some odd time later***

...

She had definitely fallen asleep. And here Weiss was hoping this would have been the last time she woke up to the sight of a hospital room.. What she also woke up to however was totally worth it.

Because at the same time Ruby had woken up as well, sitting upright and pushing the blanket down as she rubbed her face and let out a light yawn. Blinking her bright silver eyes her arms came down to her lap, half-lidded before letting out a grumbly 'Morning Weiss..'. Then she blinked a few more times, eyes widening fully now as she let out a squeal.

"Weiss! You're okay! Ohgosh I was so worried about you! Dad wouldn't tell me anything and all I remember is waking up here a couple days ago and the doctor said something about a blight and I didn't know if you were alright or-" The brunette paused, jerking back slightly as her partner practically jumped up onto the bed and threw her arms around her. She was taken aback by the sudden and unexpected motion, even more bewildered as Weiss then completely broke down into sobs and buried her face in her chest as if she'd- Well she almost had actually died right in front of her. And yet not. Unsure of what to do but what her father and Yang had done for her before Ruby just returned the embrace, one hand making soothing up and down motions on her back and another on the back of her head as she gently rocked back and forth to try and ease her wailing comrade.

This went on for a good while until Weiss finally calmed down and fell silent, pulling away from her and apologizing softly. "Wh-What was that about? I'm okay! Look!" She flailed her arms like a headless chicken for a second, just to emphasize the point before she felt hands on her shoulders. This was going to be quite a talk..

"Ruby I- I have to tell you something.. I don't know where to begin but I-" "What? Weiss, what's going on? You- Weiss your eye.." The girl was staring at her with a distressed look on her face, reaching up to place her hand on the left side of Weiss' head as if she'd just now processed the sight. From what Ruby could tell she was entirely fine except for that one detail. So if her wounds had healed then..? The Huntress bit her lip before murmuring. Something about a small price to pay before speaking up to explain about the Grimmblight. The 'curse' the Mantis had left upon her from her mortal injuries. By all accounts she should have been dead before it was halfway onset but through some miracle or sheer will she had held on.

"So I.. I almost died?" Ruby asked after a few minutes of silence. Weiss nodded. That had left her a little pale in the face. Paler anyway. It wasn't unexpected given the nature of their work but to wake up in a hospital and be told you had almost passed away in a coma.. But speaking of which. "So wait. This Grimm left me with this thing, but someone had to kill it right? Who did? Dad? Uncle Qrow?" "..I did." "Or- WHAT?!"

Weiss flinched, clasping her hands over her ears and shifting back over to sit on the bedside as Ruby yelled in surprise. That monstrous insect had completely overwhelmed both of them, how had she managed to slay it? Maybe she had help or some super powerful Dust weapon?

"It.. It wasn't easy but I hunted it down and I killed it myself." Or not. That left the Huntress with a lot of questions. How? When? Questions that Weiss attempted to answer as best (read, fast) she could. Particularly difficult when the person asking them hardly waited until you finished answering one before she posed another. Especially the ones that were harder to answer for a different reason..

Needless to say Ruby was freaking out hearing the great lengths her partner had gone through to slay the Mantis, and was more than upset at the ordeals she had put herself through. Going off alone to fight a Grimm that had entirely outclassed her in almost every way.. What it had cost her.. What it COULD have cost her..

"And you call ME reckless!" "I know, okay Ruby? I realize that now! I-" "How do you think I would have felt? You getting yourself killed for me?" "You would have been dead and the point, well, pointless!" "You could have called Yang or Blake or my dad! Anybody!" "I realize that too-" This went on for a few minutes more, with Ruby striking home when a certain subject came up. It wasn't intentional but the hurt was evident on the heiress' face when she almost echoed Weiss2 by asking what she had thought mattered more, her pride or her well being. Though it had been Weiss' well being she questioned nevertheless when she started to cry again Ruby felt quite guilty, watching her partner bury her face in her hands.

"Hey-! Weiss I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you but-" "N-No, it's fine. I understand. I had to come to terms with it myself, and you're right. I wasn't thinking straight. What matters more to me is you." She said, rubbing her eye again. Even hearing it once before from a fake Ruby didn't lessen the blow. The lecture didn't help now either but it served to make it sink in. What Ruby hadn't thought of before speaking, something she was prone to sometimes, was how Weiss had been practically raised from birth with this fantastic image of being some flawless and perfect Huntress thanks to her father. All these high expectations she'd had placed on her shoulders, this high pedestal that had never been taken out from under her before.

"Is me?" Ruby asked almost immediately after. Weiss tinged pink, thanking her lucky stars that her arm was still concealing the fact before she looked down at her feet. "Yes. It was really thanks to you that I could finally perfect my Semblance. Because I realized what's more important to me. I realized a lot of things and I.."

Ruby waited a bit for an answer, still a bit confused and not entirely sure where she was going with this. "Well you mean a lot to me too Weiss. You're my partner, and my teammate and one of my closest friends too." "M-My feelings are a bit more than that Ruby."

The girl's cheeks turned red when she finally got the gist of what she was implying, and even hotter as the other twisted her upper body to reach over and place one hand on her shoulder. "I know, that we didn't get along at first. I know, that we still fight over little things every now and then. I know, that you might not feel the same way but I think I.."

She trailed off, also turning crimson now. It was impossible to say it in this moment. The 'L word'. Weiss felt like she'd die from embarrassment. So instead she started to drift closer to her partner, sliding up on the bed while her other arm came up to Ruby's collar as well. Slowly but gradually the heiress came ever closer until they were barely inches apart. However she'd pause, just to see what Ruby was doing or if she was going to object or push her away. Neither happened.

"W-W-Weiss.. E-Erm.. You think what?" The poor Huntress was so bright she'd look faceless with her hood pulled over her head. Without giving an answer Weiss dared to get a tiny bit closer until there wasn't even an inch of space. Then she brought both hands up to cup Ruby's cheeks, pressing her lips to hers. Nothing passionate or lustful, just a gentle kiss. A kiss that Weiss deepened a bit by tilting her head slightly and pressing a bit further. It was faint but there was a slight taste of her favorite food, strawberries. Something Taiyang had brought his daughter earlier to help her feel better. Her heart was fluttering, suddenly understanding that old adage of 'butterflies in one's stomach' as they kissed. Unbeknownst to her Ruby was feeling the same way, the bare and inexplicable touch of mint on her own lips. Neither of them were sure how long it lasted but eventually they'd part, no longer as red in the face as they had been.

"Ruby, I.. Think- No. I l-love you." "Love?" She was at a loss for words, the brunette was. Sure they'd had quite a chemistry once Weiss had started to metaphorically defrost but there'd never really been any signs that she saw to indicate something like _that._ Then again.. Maybe that was one of the lot of things Weiss tried to explain she realized during the whole Mantis ordeal. Love was funny that way. Sometimes it was glaringly obvious and sometimes it just hid right beneath the surface.

"That's what I mean by important. The thought of losing you.. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't bear to even think of it. It motivated me to fight, to get stronger. When I heard the Grimmblight was getting worse and you were close to succumbing.. Even if I had to give my own life for yours, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I'd do it again as well. That's why I did something so reckless. I'm just sorry I let petty pride get in the way, otherwise this could have all been over a lot quicker and you would probably be out of bed by now."

"It's okay.. Really." She assured. "I didn't think about your feelings and about how your dad raised you, so I'm sorry too." Ruby replied softly, frowning just a bit before looking back up to meet Weiss' gaze. She'd never realized how pretty her eyes were, sparkling like crystal ice. Well. Just the one now but that didn't make it any less enchanting. Clearing her throat caused her partner to lean back, suddenly noticing she was still holding her by the shoulders and still rather close. Not that it made her uncomfortable but it was still embarrassing. Quietly and quickly apologizing the heiress moved back a bit, folding her hands in her lap. "S-So umm.. You're all better. That's.. That's good." "Yeah. Sorry about your umm, your eye." ..Awkward silence, until she then mustered enough courage to ask where they were going to go from here.

"I.. I'm not sure Weiss. I don't know. I mean I like you too but I don't know if I _like_ like you but I- Can you give me some time to think?" A pang of slight disappointment, but Weiss understood that she was hesitant. After all how was one supposed to react to a confession like that? This wasn't a romantic comedy where the other person just blindly threw their arms back around with an 'I love you too' and then everyone lived happily ever after. At worst they'd still likely be able to stay friends and she was prepared to accept that, even if it meant dealing with the pain of rejection.

So in the meantime the two Huntresses started to discuss other things. What had been going on at school, the final battle with the Mantis which Ruby was eager to see Weiss show her at some point when they were somewhere it could feasibly be summoned without breaking the ceiling, though they both stopped when the subject of Myrtenaster came up. After all it'd been sacrificed in that fight, heroically giving its 'life' to deal a crippling blow to the Creature of Grimm. Crescent Rose was out of commission as well, and both of them would shed their tears for their lost weapons together. Moreso with Ruby as she considered her scythe akin to family but that mentality had eventually rubbed off on Weiss in a way, and caused her to start taking a lot better care of her rapier after guidance from her leader since previously all she had been concerned about was keeping it in top shape and appearance. A Hunter's weapon was an extension of themselves and the soul after all. Then the subject gradually shifted over to how Weiss was going to adjust to her impaired vision now.

Obviously it was going to take some time but at least she wasn't too upset about it, even cracking a joke about how she was glad to not be the one with the sniper rifle. Really, it truly was a small price to pay in exchange for Ruby's safety. Weiss would have given the other one too if that had been a choice to make. Of course Ruby would respond that she never, ever wanted her partner to do something so dangerous and impulsive ever again. Which she stipulated that she wouldn't if her leader agreed to the same. It felt so good, just being able to talk to her again. See her face. Whole and hale- Well mostly.

Time went on, the rest spent in relative silence before finally Weiss decided it was time to go. She still had classes to attend and Ruby would have others wanting to see her as well. Especially when Yang got back.. With a 'get well soon' and a gentle smile she'd started for the door, only to be interrupted by the sound and sight of a rather wobbly Huntress trying to go after her. Nearly full body atrophy was something that'd leave an understandable weakness in one's body and in another blur Weiss was at her side, trying to help keep her stubborn partner from faceplanting. Rather clumsily because of the aforementioned reduction in her depth perception.

"Ruby Rose, sit down! You're supposed to be in bed resting!" She exclaimed as she leaned her partner back up.

"I know but I don't want you to leave yet." ..Dust dammit there were the puppy dog eyes. Why was she so good at that? If only it worked on the Grimm.

"Then just say something next time, I swear you're such a dolt."

"Maybe but I'm your dolt."

"My dolt? You mean.." Weiss paused, suddenly short of breath. She'd almost leapt to a conclusion but didn't want to get her hopes up. Besides she knew full well this wasn't something you could or should rush.

"I'm still not sure, I need more time to sort out my feelings Weiss. But.. I want to try and return yours. I-I guess what I want to say is.. Will- Will you- Uh. G-Go out-" Before she could continue tripping over her question the answer came back in the form of a silent tight embrace from the heiress along with with a smile, a smile that only widened as the younger Huntress tiptoed up to give her a kiss in return. Her arms went around Weiss' waist and Weiss' went in between and up to her shoulders again. Oh what the heck. Sometimes the old cliches still worked and who didn't like a happy ending?

That happy ending was suddenly looking like it'd turn into a tragedy when Yang burst into the room, a visibly exhausted Blake showing up right behind her looking just like the ice queen did when she ran all the way to Ruby's room earlier. However the blonde hardly looked like she'd broken a sweat. A pretty bad scene to walk in on, seeing someone kissing your little (half)sister. Thankfully Yang was more ecstatic to see her in good condition and finally awake but the briefly crimson glare she sent Weiss was a clear message that they were going to have a serious talk later. But not until after everyone could sit down for a more peaceful one.

Talk they did. Well into the evening and even into the night before Taiyang and the doctor came back by to a heartwarming sight. Ruby was resting rather comfortably in the bed with Yang, Blake sleeping at the foot and Weiss in a chair against the wall. Truly inseparable.. That was a good thing. However there was a third male that had accompanied them this time and instead of entering would simply sip his coffee before turning back away, the thunk of his cane echoing in the silent hallway with the others in tow after they closed the door back. Technically visiting hours were over but.. He saw no reason to disturb them. This was probably the first good sleep any of them had gotten since the whole situation started anyway.

* * *

 _Too many words.. BUT this is not the last chapter. I LIED. AGAIN. Next will be the epilogue. Also no points for guessing who the third person is. I still don't know exactly what I'll write after this but it's probably gonna be the StarCraft/RWBY crossover-AU. I'll likely just stop at a point where it can be cut off as a oneshot chapter but may continue if there's any sort of demand for it to. However I can't be certain what the update schedule for it will be or even if I won't let it sleep in favor of another miniseries or oneshots. I don't plan to ever, ever drop any works I start though._

 _Also, again, apologies. Time got away from me. Work had something to do with it but it was mostly me working on two God Eater OCs and generally screwing around not writing this. The epilogue I can however practically guarantee either tomorrow or Thor's Day (I like saying that) barring something like getting attacked by ninjas or a zombie apocalypse._

 _Also also I can totally stretch this over 6k and it'll just sit there taunting me if I don't, so completely random off the wall note. The Witch and the Hundred Night is getting a remake for the PS4! I LOVE Nippon Ichi games, just.. The art style and in generaly they make awesome games. Anything by them or Atlus you can't go wrong with. And hey where's my Izuna 3? I want iiiiiit. Disgaea? Makai Kingdom? La Pucelle? Phantom Brave? Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure which I never finished.. A Witch's Tale which is a freakin' underrated and undermentioned gem that I seriously wish they'd make a sequel for since the setup is perfect.. They also do anime how cool is that. (NIS America) Anyhoot.._

 _Inspectre Offline._


	9. Epilogue (The Iceman Cometh)

_Inspectre Online._

 _^-and also on a Hammerfall listening spree._

 _Alrighty! Got that fixed and out of the way. Again thanks to TykkiMikk for pinpointing that._

 _Now to do an actual chapter and A/Ns.._

 _At Cloy552: Now just because you said that.. It's more like a glimpse over what happens afterwords (AKA the definition of an epilogue right) in the following week or so. Some funny bits and a closer. I will include that though. Even if it's Weiss, gotta lay down some ground rules._

 _At reader of fanfiction117: Wiki says High Caliber Sniper Scythe, both on Crescent Rose and Ruby Rose's pages. I just checked again to make sure. I can't remember if it was stated differently in the show but from memory, which may or may not be wrong.. Sticking to that for now._

 _At TykkiMikk: Oh yeah. See Ozpin being a wizard (purportedly) he used Magic and grew it back. In other words I forgot. HAHA amateur mistake, forgetting my own writing.. Well it happens to the best of us. Thanks for reminding me 'cause I probably wouldn't have realized until way later. I mean I did pick this back up a week after but ugh, I'm not gonna forgive myself for that one for awhile.. *post edit* Fix'd._

 _At KibaPT: Pollination as it's called (White Rose x Bumblebee) I just.. I dunno. I'm not gonna knock anybody for their tastes but no thanks. Maybe in the future I might write something like a double date or whatever but not like that. I'm open to a lot of ships though so I plan on writing a bit of everything if possible. Not EVERYTHING everything but you get my point. Maybe one or two crackships here and there. Just for funsies._

 _At LegolasDragonRanger: Pfft. Your ninjas are no match for my cyborgs and androids. Also, clearly. That'll actually be elaborated on in this epilogue._

 _Time to wrap this baby up! I can't believe this thing turned out to be bigger than my first story and pretty much almost as successful.. So a shoutout to all my readers, all my reviewers, my followers and favoriters and that's totally a word. I drew it in the back of the dictionary myself. With a crayon 'cause crayons are awesome. Also I would have finished this earlier but I took way too much time browsing RWBY fanart and playing more Advance Wars 2. Also got started on Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days. Disgaea's one of my favorite series ever. Check it out sometime._

 _I wonder if there's a way to browse all of DashingIceCream's just RWBY works (I do like the Vocaloid ones though) in one spot 'cause she's got like a bajillion pages of posts to filter through and a ton of pieces. And then file them all into a giant collection along with some others'._

 _..I know, I'm RWBY obsessed. I regret nothing. I don't really use Tumblr much either aside from browsing for art and stuff so I dunno if there's a way to do that or not. That said her particular style is really fancy. Like something you'd see in a Disney movie. Really some unique artists we've got in the FNDM. ..Also I might be a little jealous I can't draw nearly as well as a lot of them but moving on! To the epilogue! Besides, I think writing is more my forte and I quite enjoy it._

* * *

Just as it had been so abruptly flipped turned upside down, life went back to normal for Team RWBY. As normal as being a Huntress could be in these times. Not instantly though as there had been a few things to deal with beforehand..

First of all, that serious talk was indeed going to be had between Yang and Weiss, the former laying down some basic rules for dating her little sister. Which the heiress tried to explain that they weren't dating (officially) but knowing something she didn't or perhaps not caring Yang would go on ahead like a stereotypical 'dad'. All the basics. Bring her home at a reasonable hour, treat her with respect, protect her from harm..

"Yang, I'm not some irresponsible teenage boy. I don't need the lecture." She huffed, crossing her arms and frowning at the blonde from where she was sitting. On her bed as the other paced back and forth rambling off other things she expected Weiss to do and to not do or be mindful of.

"I don't care if you were a saint. I'm doing this for my sake so I know you know." "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" "Oh, heh. Figure of speech? Don't worry, I won't take much _Long_ er." Weiss facepalmed. Suddenly she was starting to wish she was back in the hospital. Before she put her teammate in it.

"Look. Weiss.. Please understand where I'm coming from. I'm her older sister. I've got a job to do and I can't be slack just 'cause you're my teammate."

"..*sigh* I do, but is all of this really necessary? We aren't even together." (blatant lie) "It was just a confession and Ruby kissed me back and I'm pretty sure that if we were dating, we would be fine." The heiress grumbled.

Yang smirked. It wasn't that hard to believe now but at the same time the little Huntress meant just as much to her if not more, and she took her wellbeing very seriously. Caring for her ever since Summer passed away, and she'd continue to do so until the day she died. "I know princess but just let me get this off my chest."

"Whatever. You have too much of it anyway."

Yang gasped. Mostly (and obviously) feigned hurt before she laughed. "Whatever whatever. Don't be sore." Ooh the nerve.. The white haired Huntress huffed again and this time got up, being intercepted with an apology before she could walk off. "Waitwaitwait don't leave! Just promise me that when you two do start dating-" "Th-That's not a certainty yet-" "Riiiight. Just come to me when you do."

Weiss stared at her with mild annoyance in her expression before giving her a curt 'fine' and started to push past her.

"Oh and if you two wanna make out in the room put a sock on the door or something."

"Y-Yang you-" ***thunk*** "Oh watch out Weiss, there's a wall there!" "I realize that you dunce!" The heiress scowled, holding the blind side of her head and massaging the small swelling forming before she exited the room. This time without trying to go halfway through the doorway and halfway through the wall. Yeah, it was going to take some time to get used to.

...

A few days later, to Weiss' pleasant surprise Ruby scheduled a meetup on the rooftop after classes. The same one Pyrrha and Jaune used for their training sessions among other things. The two Huntresses sat near the edge and watched the sun set, the shorter one laying her head against the other's shoulder as they talked.

"So.. How's your head feel?"

"Fine. It's been.. Strange. Getting used to missing an eye, but it's not like I don't have people to lean on for help." Weiss stated with a smile and nudged against her leader for emphasis.

"Yep! I've got your back, and your side." Ruby giggled. At the moment she was actually leaning against her right where normally she'd be on her left, on account of which one the heiress was missing. To cover her blind spot it was a general objective to always have at least one of Team RWBY near or watching it during a battle, and it wasn't like she was slacking in that regard. She'd started to train not just her Aura and Semblance but her hearing as well to compensate.

"I know you do but don't forget I've got yours too." Weiss moved her hand over to the brunette's, gently squeezing it. They turned to share a look, Ruby being the bold one this time as after they met halfway for another kiss she moved into her, ending up on top once they laid back.

"I love you Ruby, even if you drive me crazy sometimes."

"I love you too Weiss."

They met once more, the alabaster haired one saying something about being her little cookie monster when they parted which had Ruby red as her cloak and sputtering from embarrassment. So adorable.. Another something in return that sounded suspiciously like 'snow angel'. Weiss couldn't help but think of Jaune and Neptune when she said that. Though she didn't mind nearly as much when it came from her, in fact she rather liked it.

"So.. Does this mean you've sorted out your feelings? I don't want to rush you Ruby."

"I have sooo. I want us to be.. Together, together."

"Ha. You've been hanging around Nora too much." Weiss said with a smile, giggling.

"Hey she's pretty cool! Her and Yang are pretty similar now that I think about it. Crazy strong, explosive tendencies, hardhitting weapons and superpowered Semblances.."

"Speaking of your sister.." The heiress trailed off, frowning slightly. Now that they were actually (read, publicly) going to be dating they'd have to deal with her.

"I'm more worried about what your dad will think." "Oh pshh. He can go hug a cactus." ..She really hadn't thought of that to be honest but she'd burn that bridge when she came to it. Taking over the company was one thing but Weiss was _not_ going to let him dictate her entire life. Especially something like who she chooses to love and date, or even marry.

"Come on. Let's go tell them the good news, and get this over with." She reached up to give her 'new' girlfriend one last chaste kiss after cupping her chin, the two of them heading back for the rooftop entrance. This was going to be interesting to say the least.

...

Thankfully, Yang reacted much better than either of them had expected. She'd pulled both of them into a tight embrace, exclaiming how happy she was for the two of them. Blake congratulated the two of them but when her partner wasn't looking, discreetly warned Weiss to keep an eye out in case she tried to spy on them. 'Let's just say she'd said some things to her, jokingly and not.' the Cat Faunus cited.

And so, over the next week things finally started to go back to normal. Classes, missions, everyday life.. Weiss gradually got better and more adjusted to her impairment until it was more of an inconvenience instead. She also replaced the medical eye patch for a, in the words of Sun Wukong, 'pretty rad item'. A black eyepatch with the Schnee Dust Company snowflake in the center and a white band to hold the piece and blend in with her hair.

She and Ruby also went on a few dates, though if anyone asked they were just bonding. While they'd admitted it to their teammates the general public was a different story. But at some point it'd have to come out and neither of them wanted to have to hide it.

Naturally Team JNPR was rather accepting of the news, with Nora making a crack about how Jaune's advances having been apparently moot from the get-go. Besides Pyrrha and he had ended up becoming a couple after the Battle of Beacon and while they both denied it vehemently, there was a rumor or two going around that Sun and Neptune were secretly a thing. Everybody was happy it seemed.

As for Team SSSN and Team CFVY they more or less were just as accepting, and their other friends and family members voiced general approval or wished them happiness. Things were looking bright. Then again.. There were always naysayers somewhere.

...

 ***the next day, Beacon Cafeteria/Dining Hall, about lunchtime***

...

The thunking of a cane hitting the smooth floor was indiscernible over the many voices and activities within Beacon's dining hall as Ozpin paced between two rows of tables for a larger round one at the end where other teachers and staff usually sat. Ordinarily he'd be sitting with them but instead took a seat over next to an empty table as he withdrew his Scroll.

Glynda and Professor Port were currently discussing the current coursework, the boisterous blunderaxe wielder retelling yet another grand epic of how back in his day they'd done live Grimm hunts on field trips or even camping expeditions to track down rare species. That man could probably spin a yarn long enough to fill a novel. Something Oobleck and another professor chuckled about before Oobleck went to go deal with a food fight right as it was about to start.

The Headmaster glanced around the collective of Hunters in training, eyes landing on the present half of Team RWBY before moving back to his Scroll as a call came in on the screen, covering the game of Minesweeper he'd just started. Soon after clicking, a familiar masked and helmet-covered face appeared.

"Ah. Mr. Fonar. Finally done with that matter I sent you to check on?"

"Yeah. My Osprey took some damage from a few Raptor Grimm on the way back but that's one less problem to deal with."

"I see.. Good work. Notify me the next time you're headed for Arbor Academy."

"Got'cha."

The call screen clicked off, Ozpin taking a sip of his coffee before setting it on the table along with a plate Glynda had prepared for him and brought over. He was about to go back to his game when the screen turned back on, the male reconnecting.

"Hey Headmaster, I gotta ask.. How come you didn't let me handle that thing? I would've been fine and it would have caused a lot less grief for everybody if you just let me mow it down."

A blank stare and another sip in relative silence was given before he answered. "The path of least resistance isn't always the best one. Overcoming adversity makes one stronger."

"Yeah but the little yuki-onna lady lost an eye and you know how dangerous Grimmblight is."

"I took a gamble and they reaped the rewards. There was a clear and present danger yes, but I was confident the matter would be resolved in an overall successful way. Should things have turned dark-" "Kinda missed that bus already." "-then I'd have given you the signal to intervene. Just in case.. You did keep an eye on things did you not?" Ozpin asked, keeping his voice low and glancing over at the other teachers.

"Yeah. I had it in the bag." ..Something about the way the pilot said that was strange, he seemed almost amused about it. "So. The heiress of the SDC and a hyperactive scythe wielding- How do you come up with these teams? I read the student dossiers earlier and I can't wrap my head around it." He asked incredulously, holding another Scroll in his hand open lengthwise.

"Interesting, isn't it? I assure you I carefully handpick all of the teams that are formed here at Beacon. Not particularly because of any chemistry or compatibility-" "Been really lucky with that though." "..." "Sorry." After a moment the Headmaster continued. "But. Rather what can be gained from such formations. Ms. Rose and Ms. Xiao Long, granted an exception as I didn't want to separate them but everyone in Team RWBY has a way in which they can help eachother. Ms. Belladonna, being who she was and what she is I felt would provide an interesting perspective on the way Ms. Schnee formerly viewed Faunus as a whole. She's also a stark contrast to Yang Xiao Long and I daresay ever since her first days at Beacon has become more sociable and less reclusive thanks to her."

"Yeah and the ice queen used to be such a brat. I'd seen her once or twice before over in Atlas during my 'work'." Jack fingerquoted, receiving a briefly raised eyebrow. "Now look at her." "So you see my point. Need I delve and elaborate further? Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc, where do I begin with those two.."

"Don't even. I agree with the Headmistress. That kid may be from a solid lineage but he was a joke until she took him in. Shoulda seen the way he threw that shield of his."

"And thus my point stands." The man said a bit firmly and with a small smile before looking up at the entrance to the lunch hall. "I should go, I've a lot of work to do. Stay in touch."

"Roger dodger."

Ozpin disconnected, then glanced at the open game before shutting it as well and taking his plate to join the others. His attention lingered on the entrance for a minute, seeing a certain pair of faces come in.

...

They got a few interesting looks and turned more than a couple heads, walking together to sit with the rest of their team the way they did hand in hand. Not that they paid any mind.

"Wow, look at you two. So bold." Called a humored voice from behind. A certain blue and pink headed male spun on his seat to face the two Huntresses after they sat down. It took a minute for her to recall the name with the face but she eventually got it. "Azure, correct? Of 2nd Year Team AMJR?" "Ring-a-ding-ding."

The male flashed Weiss a bright grin, eyes darting to their conjoined hands before chuckling. Past him, the other three on the team all either waved or smiled as well. "So it looks like you gu- gals pulled through huh? What'd you do, hire a Grimm Slayer or something?" Confused looks were handwaved with a short explanation. True, he didn't know the exact details, but Jackie HAD been able to identify the onset of the affliction and none of them would have thought it possible for anyone but a senior or graduate Huntsman to take down a Champion class Grimm and thus cure it..

"Excuse me. I'm a Schnee. I can handle my own business." She retorted, Ruby simply giggling.

"Yeah so- Wait you killed that thing yourself? Hot dang. Crouching white tiger, hidden badass." He commented with a whistle before reaching under the table and picking something up. Or rather some things. "Oh before I forget, here. Pretty sure these are yours."

Weiss simply stared, a little shocked while her girlfriend squealed and looked with her eyes wide. "MY BABY~!"

They looked just about brand new but there they were, Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose (the latter compacted of course) in practically mint condition. The brunette made grabby hands before taking her weapon from the AMJR leader and squeezing it tightly to herself. Once she recovered Weiss took her MADR in her own, gaping at it as if it were some kind of treasure. "How..?"

Azure held up his hands. "I didn't do it. Much as I wish I could have, they're pretty awesome pieces and I'm really good with machinery. One of the teachers saw us on the way here and dropped them off with us, said to hand them over to 'the heiress and her partner'. I never stopped to ask anything more so that's all I know."

"Before you get to gabbing it's about time we head out. We've got another mission." Jackie called, prodding his back rather roughly with a fork when he didn't respond. "Ow! Alright alright, roll out Team AMJR. Guess we're gonna be productive members of society today. Talk to you ladies later." The others followed suit as they pushed their chairs in and headed for the doors.

"Wow. Somebody really likes you two huh." Yang then exclaimed, getting their attention after having watched the whole scene from halfway over the table until she sat back down. "Wonder who fixed them."

"No clue honestly but I'm just happy to have it back.." Weiss said, flicking the tip of the rapier about and spearing a piece of food rather easily before wiping it clean and laying it on her lap.

"Too expensive to get another one?" The blonde jokingly wondered, only to receive a huffy reply that her weapon was special and not something that could just be bought again. Ruby had been about to say something in the same vein, conceding to her partner with a beaming smile. She was happy. The old Weiss would probably have never said something like that.

A few others nearby started talking excitedly, coming to ask about the fight with the Mantis. Seems word had started to get around now about it. At first the heiress had been unwilling to divulge anything but when she finally started, it was to be interrupted by someone flicking the side of her head. The _left_ side of her head. Whirling on her aggressor with a scowl she saw the unpleasantly familiar face of who else than..

Cardin Winchester. Resident bully and overall one of the least liked people in Beacon. Forever Fall really hadn't changed much unfortunately. While his attitude against Jaune and Pyrrha had definitely dropped, that didn't stop him from picking on others.

"You? Killing a Grimm like that? Pfft. In your dreams cyclops." "Hey!" Weiss snipped, crossing her arms. She was about ready to tell the brute off but she was in a good mood, and didn't want to spoil it. "I don't have time to deal with you today Winchester. Just- Just shoo. Go back into whatever cave you came out of you belligerent troll."

"What? I'm curious. You're just so scrawny, and a little toy like that? I don't really see what else it could do besides pick a Ursa's teeth after it eats you."

"Says the guy who almost crapped himself after one tried to eat him and had to be saved by Vomit Boy of all people." Yang shot back, glaring red at Cardin who merely shrugged it off. Technically that was an Ursa _Major_ and Jaune just got lucky. -Is what he tried to defend himself with.

"So butt out bimbo." "Don't make me kick your a-" "Don't talk to my sister like that!" Ruby jumped up, standing by Weiss as Blake shoved the fiery brawler back in her seat before she could Superman punch him from across the table. Weiss reached out and grasped her hand, mouthing 'not worth it' before trying to pull her away. With a grumble she relented, plopping down on her lap and glaring. "Fine.."

"What, you wanna go? I'm game. Or are you gonna let your little girlfriend fight your battles for you?" Cardin said confidently, cracking his knuckles. "Wait, were you two- Wow I was right on the Lien. Geez. First they started letting Faunus into our schools and now homos. No wonder society's going so downhill."

That was the last straw. Yang almost jumped over the table, Blake barely being able to hold her back before hissing at him to just leave them alone. "Pfft, whatever. Let's do this. Sky, Dove, Russel." The other three members of Team CRDL came up behind their leader, either cracking their knuckles as well or rolling their necks and sporting equally overconfident grins. Despite the fact that there were a half dozen teachers in the hall, albeit on the other side, it looked like they weren't joking. Then again, they might have also been bluffing just to try and intimidate Team RWBY. Not just them but several other students and Teams were watching as well.

"Feeling lucky eye-sicle? Or do you wanna go cry to daddy and have him send in the army?"

Weiss had been scowling at him, hoping it'd cause him to just melt away or burst into flames. That one quip however brought a smirk to her face as she withdrew Myrtenaster from underneath Ruby and flicked it towards Cardin. "I don't need an army. I've got friends. Oh, and Frosty."

"Frosty? The Hell is that? Your pet dog?"

Weeeell it was something like that. A guard dog perhaps. The four males heard something crackle and almost immediately after, chills up their spines and cold air on their backs. Russel looked over his shoulder to see what she'd just done before looking back to the heiress.

Then he did a double take, seeing the massive fifteen foot Giant Armor Knight standing right behind them in the aisle. In almost a mirror of their own actions it cracked the knuckles of its frozen gauntlets and rolled its armored neck, tiny fragments of ice flittering down onto their uniforms as low and demonic laughter echoed to just where only the nearest few could hear.

It was a rather hot topic for the rest of the week, the sight of the towering frozen Grimm flinging Cardin and Dove out of the nearest window like screaming human ragdolls before punting the other two out after them. Ruby smirked and turned back to her girlfriend, giving her a long kiss as everyone cheered. Even Ozpin was sporting an almost impossible to notice smile. Glynda on the other hand was not as she went to go clean up yet another mess.

* * *

 _Wooooooo! Another series comes to an end, and what an ending! I'm glad I managed to get this out before work so y'all don't have to wait another day or so for this. I told you guys that if possible I try to be frequent with updates. However I am gonna be taking the rest of this week to relax and play video games, maybe think about what I want to write next. So far it's looking to be that StarCraft crossover-AU starter/oneshot and then either other oneshots or a small series like these last two. I have no idea when I'll ever get into any of my big AUs but the first will probably be maybe a mecha thing I'm thinking about. Still nervous.._

 _Anyway. Quick note. I'm not a Cardin basher. He's just convenient to use that way. Yeah he's an ass and we've seen literally like no development of him as a character (like what did Forever Fall change) but maybe we'll see more on that or even CRDL as a whole later on. Maybe they get better or there's some justification for it. Might just write a oneshot giving them some sort of backstory as to why they have such a beef with Faunus, or at least Cardin 'cause I actually have thought about that. Bridges an unknown connection between Velvet and Cardin funny enough. Maybe something to do with the White Fang? Working title, Broken Birds? (I'm copyrighting that for now so nyeh)_

 _Also, brief cameos from the OCs in this story. Ozpin being Batman. That sort of thing. I had to give their weapons back somehow and put closure on that issue, sorry for the vagueness but I didn't want to spend a handful of paragraphs off of the focus on Weiss and Ruby._

 _Well. I'm gonna go play some more Disgaea 2 then go to work. Oh and I said I'd be relaxing this week but IF possible I am going to try and have something else started with at least a chapter, again probably that StarCraft cross-Au like I said so.. Later doods!_

 _Inspectre Offline._


End file.
